Nanocrystal Phase Identification by Lattice Fringe Fingerprinting from High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope Images

ORAL

Abstract

Lattice fringe fingerprinting is a novel and powerful method of identifying and characterizing nanocrystalline structures or materials based on images from direct space high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). We examine Fourier transformed HRTEM images of nanocrystals in certain orientations (i.e. lattice fringes and cross fringes) in order to obtain a lattice fringe fingerprint plot. Such plots are used to identify a crystalline nanoparticle by comparing the experimental data with data that are derived from a comprehensive database. A lattice fringe fingerprint plot is similar to a classical X-ray powder diffractogram, but an important advantage is that the intersection angles of lattice fringes give us additional information. When transmission electron microscope image acquisition and data interpretation are automated and connected to a comprehensive database (such as our Nano-Crystallography Database, http://nanocrystallography.research.pdx.edu/), fringe fingerprinting will be able to compete with powder X-ray diffraction in identifying unknown nanocrystals on a routine basis.

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Authors

  • Ruben Bjorge

    Portland State University

  • James C. Evans

    The Evergreen State College, Department of Physics, University of Washington, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Portland State University, Whitman College, University of British Columbia, University of Portland, Dordt College, Calvin College, Evergreen State College, Department of Materials Science, Tmfy-MSE, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA, Department of Physics, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751, USA, Army Research Lab, Physics Dept., Washington State University, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, Department of Physics, University of Puget Sound

  • James C. Evans

    The Evergreen State College, Department of Physics, University of Washington, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Portland State University, Whitman College, University of British Columbia, University of Portland, Dordt College, Calvin College, Evergreen State College, Department of Materials Science, Tmfy-MSE, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA, Department of Physics, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751, USA, Army Research Lab, Physics Dept., Washington State University, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, Department of Physics, University of Puget Sound

  • James C. Evans

    The Evergreen State College, Department of Physics, University of Washington, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Portland State University, Whitman College, University of British Columbia, University of Portland, Dordt College, Calvin College, Evergreen State College, Department of Materials Science, Tmfy-MSE, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA, Department of Physics, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751, USA, Army Research Lab, Physics Dept., Washington State University, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, Department of Physics, University of Puget Sound