title: Depth sectioning combined with atom-counting in HAADF STEM to retrieve the 3D atomic structure.
abstract: Aberration correction in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has greatly improved the lateral and depth resolution. When using depth sectioning, a technique during which a series of images is recorded at different defocus values, single impurity atoms can be visualised in three dimensions. In this paper, we investigate new possibilities emerging when combining depth sectioning and precise atom-counting in order to reconstruct nanosized particles in three dimensions. Although the depth resolution does not allow one to precisely locate each atom within an atomic column, it will be shown that the depth location of an atomic column as a whole can be measured precisely. In this manner, the morphology of a nanoparticle can be reconstructed in three dimensions. This will be demonstrated using simulations and experimental data of a gold nanorod.
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alania
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Altantzis
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Backer
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lobato
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bals
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: sandra.vanaert@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Aert
keywords: Atom-counting; Depth sectioning; Quantitative electron microscopy; STEM; Three-dimensional imaging