Thin-Film Phase Plates for Transmission Electron Microscopy Fabricated from Metallic Glasses.
Thin-film phase plates (PPs) have become an interesting tool to enhance the contrast of weak-phase objects in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thin film usually consists of amorphous carbon, which suffers from quick degeneration under the intense electron-beam illumination. Recent investigations have focused on the search for alternative materials with an improved material stability. This work presents thin-film PPs fabricated from metallic glass alloys, which are characterized by a high electrical conductivity and an amorphous structure. Thin films of the zirconium-based alloy Zr65.0Al7.5Cu27.5 (ZAC) were fabricated and their phase-shifting properties were evaluated. The ZAC film was investigated by different TEM techniques, which reveal beneficial properties compared with amorphous carbon PPs. Particularly favorable is the small probability for inelastic plasmon scattering, which results from the combined effect of a moderate inelastic mean free path and a reduced film thickness due to a high mean inner potential. Small probability plasmon scattering improves contrast transfer at high spatial frequencies, which makes the ZAC alloy a promising material for PP fabrication.
1Laboratorium für Elektronenmikroskopie (LEM),Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT),Engesserstraße 7,D-76131 Karlsruhe,Germany.
Manuel
M
Dries
1Laboratorium für Elektronenmikroskopie (LEM),Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT),Engesserstraße 7,D-76131 Karlsruhe,Germany.
Simon
S
Hettler
1Laboratorium für Elektronenmikroskopie (LEM),Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT),Engesserstraße 7,D-76131 Karlsruhe,Germany.
Tina
T
Schulze
1Laboratorium für Elektronenmikroskopie (LEM),Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT),Engesserstraße 7,D-76131 Karlsruhe,Germany.
Winfried
W
Send
1Laboratorium für Elektronenmikroskopie (LEM),Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT),Engesserstraße 7,D-76131 Karlsruhe,Germany.
Erich
E
Müller
1Laboratorium für Elektronenmikroskopie (LEM),Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT),Engesserstraße 7,D-76131 Karlsruhe,Germany.
Reinhard
R
Schneider
1Laboratorium für Elektronenmikroskopie (LEM),Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT),Engesserstraße 7,D-76131 Karlsruhe,Germany.
Dagmar
D
Gerthsen
2I. Physikalisches Institut,Universität Göttingen,Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1,D-37077 Göttingen,Germany.
Yuansu
Y
Luo
2I. Physikalisches Institut,Universität Göttingen,Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1,D-37077 Göttingen,Germany.
Konrad
K
Samwer
metallic glass alloy; phase contrast; phase plate; thin film; transmission electron microscopy