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Summary In this paper, we discuss the application of the maximum entropy method to atomic resolution Z-contrast images acquired in a scanning transmission electron microscope. Zcontrast is an incoherent imaging technique, and can be described as a convolution between an object function (the real-space map of the columnar scattering cross-section to high angles) and a point spread function (the effective electron probe). As such, we show that the technique is ideally suited to maximum entropy analysis which can, given an electron probe distribution, retrieve the ‘most likely’ Z-contrast object function. Using both simulated and experimentally acquired data, we explore the capabilities of maximum entropy analysis when applied to atomic resolution Z-contrast images, drawing conclusions on both the range of applicability of the technique and the nature of the retrieved crystal structures. Ultimately, we show the way in which the combination of Z-contrast imaging with maximum entropy analysis can be used to yield important information on unexpected atomic structures.

Z-contrast STEM using an annular detector can provide an intuitively interpretable, column-by-column, compositional map of crystals. Incoherent imaging reduces dynamical effects to second order so that the map directly reflects the positions of the atomic columns and their relative high-angle scattering power. This article outlines how these characteristics arise, presents some examples of the insights available from a direct image, and discusses recent developments of atomic-resolution microanalysis, direct structure retrieval by maximum entropy analysis, and Z-contrast imaging at 1.4 Å resolution using a 300-kV STEM.

Incoherent Z-contrast imaging uses a high-angle annular detector to collect only highly local, incoherently generated scattering with the result that images become dependent on intensities, not phases. No model structures are required for a first-order structure determination, and the images remain intuitively interpretable even at interfaces. Under suitable conditions, incoherently generated inelastic scattering may be collected simultaneously with a large-aperture axial spectrometer, and, by using the Z-contrast image to locate the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) probe over selected atomic columns, can provide an atomic-resolution chemical analysis. This is demonstrated with reference to an epitaxial CoSi2/Si(100) interface, achieving a 2.7 A spatial resolution. Recent insights into the growth and relaxation of strained Si-Ge epitaxial films are described, highlighting the role of stress concentrations, and contrasting the case of a free surface with that of a surface constrained by an oxide layer.

This paper presents directly interpretable atomic resolution images of dislocation structures at interfaces in CdTe/GaAs(001) systems. This is achieved using the technique of Z-contrast imaging in a 300 kV scanning transmission electron microscope in conjunction with maximum entropy image analysis. In addition to being used to further the understanding of the relation between growth conditions and exhibited properties, the data presented provides direct information on the atomic arrangements at dislocation cores.

By averaging phase correlations between scattered electrons a high angle detector in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) can provide an incoherent, Z-contrast image at atomic resolution. Phase coherence is effectively destroyed through a combination of detector geometry (transverse incoherence) and phonon scattering (longitudinal incoherence). Besides having a higher intrinsic resolution, incoherent imaging offers the possibility of robust reconstruction to higher resolutions, provided that some lower frequency information is present in the image. This should have value for complex materials and regions of complex atomic arrangements such as grain boundaries. Direct resolution of the GaAs sublattice with a 300kV is demonstrated.

By applying the technique of Z-contrast imaging to the study of a GaAs/AlGaAs multilayer using a newly developed 300kV scanning transmission electron microscope, we show that it is possible to directly observe the interlocking group III and group V sub-lattices on a column-by-column level. In addition to the direct observation of structural polarity in the [110] orientation, we show that, by using a maximum entropy approach to image processing, the experimentally acquired data can provide direct information on interface structures at atomic resolution.

The stress rupture properties of high nickel austenitic alloys and austenitic stainless steels used in the nuclear industry are strongly affected under irradiation by the formation of helium from boron by means of an n-α reaction. As the congregation and growth of helium bubbles (typically 20-50nm diameter) at grain boundaries can cause embrittlement in stressed steels, it is important to gain an understanding of embrittlement mechanisms in the material. Consequently, an accurate measurement of quantities such as bubble pressure and metal surface energy is highly desirable. However, this can only be achieved if the number of helium atoms per unit volume is known. In this work, we report on the use of parallel-detection electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS) on a VG HB501 scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) as a powerful technique for characterising helium bubbles in irradiated steels. In addition, we suggest a simple analytical process that could be used to quantify the amount of helium present in each bubble.

By employing the technique of Z‐contrast imaging in a 300 kV scanning transmission electron microscope, we show that it is possible to obtain directly interpretable, atomic resolution images of interface structures in semiconductor materials. With particular emphasis on the study of the CdTe/GaAs(001) system, we demonstrate that such an approach enables the direct observation of the sublattice in compound semiconductors and, as a direct consequence of this, facilitates the observation of atomic arrangements (in some cases unexpected) at dislocation cores on the column‐by‐column level. In addition, we demonstrate that the technique can also be applied to the study of grain boundary structures, by showing examples taken from boundaries in Si and SrTiO3.