Observation of thermally-induced magnetic relaxation in a magnetite grain using off-axis electron holography

A synthetic basalt comprising magnetic Fe3O4 grains (~ 50 nm to ~ 500 nm in diameter) is investigated using a range of complementary nano-characterisation techniques. Off-axis electron holography combined with in situ heating allowed for the visualisation of the thermally-induced magnetic relaxation of an Fe3O4 grain (~ 300 nm) from an irregular domain state into a vortex state at 550˚C, just below its Curie temperature, with the magnetic intensity of the vortex increasing on cooling

TEMGYM Basic: transmission electron microscopy simulation software for teaching and training of microscope operation

An interactive simulation of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) called TEMGYM Basic is developed here, which enables users to understand how to operate and control an electron beam without the need to access an instrument. TEMGYM Basic allows users to familiarize themselves with alignment procedures offline, reducing the time and money required to become a proficient TEM operator. In addition to teaching the basics of electron beam alignments, the software enables users to create bespoke microscope configurations and develop an understanding of how to operate the configurations without sitting at a microscope. TEMGYM Basic also creates static ray diagram figures for a given lens configuration. The available components include apertures, lenses, quadrupoles, deflectors and biprisms. The software design uses first-order ray transfer matrices to calculate ray paths through each electron microscope component, and the program is developed entirely in Python to facilitate compatibility with machine-learning packages for future exploration of automated control

A single slice approach for simulating two-beam electron diffraction of nanocrystals

[EN] A simple computational method that can be used to simulate TEM image contrast of an electron beam diffracted by a crystal under two-beam dynamical scattering conditions is presented. The approach based on slicing the shape factor is valid for a general crystal morphology, with and without crystalline defects, avoids the column approximation, and provides the complex exit wave at the focal and the image planes also under weak-beam conditions. The approach is particularly efficient for large crystals and the 3D model required for the calculations can be measured experimentally using electron tomography. The method is applied to show that the shape of a diffracted spot can be affected by shifts, broadening and secondary maxima of appreciable intensity, even for a perfect crystal. The methodology is extended for the case of electron precession diffraction, and to show how can be used to improve nanometrology from diffraction patterns. The method is used also to perform simulations of simple models of crystalline defects. The accuracy of the method is demonstrated through examples of experimental and simulated dark-field images of MgO and ZrO2 nanocrystals and thin layers of CeO2

Focused Electron-Beam Induced Deposition, In Situ TEM And Off-Axis Electron Holography Investigation of Bi-Magnetic Core-Shell Nanostructures

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