title: Determination of the 3D shape of a nanoscale crystal with atomic resolution from a single image.
abstract: Although the overall atomic structure of a nanoscale crystal is in principle accessible by modern transmission electron microscopy, the precise determination of its surface structure is an intricate problem. Here, we show that aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, combined with dedicated numerical evaluation procedures, allows the three-dimensional shape of a thin MgO crystal to be determined from only one single high-resolution image. The sensitivity of the reconstruction procedure is not only sufficient to reveal the surface morphology of the crystal with atomic resolution, but also to detect the presence of adsorbed impurity atoms. The single-image approach that we introduce offers important advantages for three-dimensional studies of radiation-sensitive crystals.
authors.affiliation: 1] International Center for Dielectric Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China [2] Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany [3] Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: International Center for Dielectric Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Mi
authors.affiliation: 1] Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany [2] Central Facility for Electron Microscopy, RWTH Aachen University, Ahornstr. 55 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barthel
authors.affiliation: International Center for Dielectric Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany [2] Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Dunin-Borkowski
authors.affiliation: 1] Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany [2] Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.affiliation: 1] Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany [2] Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thust