title: Annular dark-field transmission electron microscopy for low contrast materials.
abstract: Imaging soft matter by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is anything but straightforward. Recently, interest has grown in developing alternative imaging modes that generate contrast without additional staining. Here, we present a dark-field TEM technique based on the use of an annular objective aperture. Our experiments demonstrate an increase in both contrast and signal-to-noise ratio in comparison to conventional bright-field TEM. The proposed technique is easy to implement and offers an alternative imaging mode to investigate soft matter.
authors.affiliation: EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171 B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bladt
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Timmermans
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Tendeloo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bals
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003287:Contrast Media; D008168:Lung / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051379:Mice; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media