Papers by Keyword: Electron Diffraction (ED)

Abstract: The microstructures of three kinds of synthetical solid FeS, acting as a solid lubricant, which includes FeS bulk, FeS particle and FeS powder, were studied by transmission electron microscope (TEM) in this article. The TEM photographs showed that different shapes of FeS had quite dissimilar characteristics. The texture of FeS powder was the loosest among the three shapes, and it tended to forming flocculent aggregation; while FeS bulk and FeS particle were more dispersive. The electron diffraction results showed that the crystals of solid FeS were composed of many single crystals and multi-crystals, with two kinds of crystalline structure- hexagonal structure and face-centered cubic structure.

Abstract: In the present work, we summarize three calculation methods to determine some specific crystallographic elements based on electron diffraction orientation measurements by SEM and TEM. The first one is to determine the plane indices of the faceted interfaces where the orientation relation¬ships (ORs) between the adjacent crystals are reproducible. To acquire the orientation data, we need to prepare only one sample surface but not two perpendicular sample surfaces as usually required in the standard double trace method. The second is to characterize the surface crystalline planes and directions of a faceted nano-particle under TEM imaging and diffraction mode. With the determination of the edge trace vectors and then the plane normal vectors in the screen coordinate system of TEM, their Miller indices in the crystal coordinate system can be calculated through coordinate trans¬formation. The third method is to determine the twin type and the twinning elements based on the orientation information acquired by SEM EBSD measurements from the two twinned crystals through misorientation calculations. These methods will facilitate related studies.

Abstract: Structured diffuse scattering has been observed in selected area electron diffraction patterns of PbZr1-xTixO3 (PZT). This scattering is most evident in the rhombohedral (Zr-rich) phase but has also been observed for a range of compositions including in the important morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) region as well as in the tetragonal (Ti-rich) phase. Monte Carlo computer simulation has been used to show that the scattering originates from the correlation between the displacements of cations in chains running along all four of the cubic <111>c directions. The transverse polarised nature of the scattering means that the ionic shifts are also directed along <111>c. The results are difficult to reconcile with current structural models for the low temperature phases of PZT. It is conjectured that these phases must still contain significant remnants of the disorder present in the high-temperature paraelectric cubic phase.

Abstract: In a recent study conducted by the author, microcrystallites were observed to exist in amorphous, short range ordered, structures of several metallic glasses. The observation is based on X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Electron Diffraction (ED) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The data from the X-ray diffraction shows that the metallic glasses have typical amorphous structures. However, the data from the Electron Diffraction indicates that the metallic glasses possess polycrystalline structures. This discrepancy between the XRD and ED data can be interpreted and explained by diffraction theory [1,2] with the aid of Transmission Electron Microscopy. In fact results in the recent work show that with a mathematical relationship originally derived by Sherrer [1], one can determine the boundary line between microcrystallites in amorphous, short range ordered, structures and crystalline, long range ordered, structures. The boundary line of microcrystallites is defined with the aid of Transmission Electron Microscopy in which the size of subgrains, of the metallic glasses was determined from the mathematical relationship.

Abstract: A newly developed high-strength reaction-sintered silicon carbide (SiC), which has two or three times higher strength than the normal sintered SiC, is one of the most promising candidates such as the lightweight substrate of optical mirror, because of fully dense, small sintering shrinkage (±1%), good shape capability and low sintering temperature. In this paper, in order to improve the performance of newly developed reaction-sintered SiC, the microstructure was investigated by paying attention to the crystal structures using the observation of transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis. As a result, it made clear that the finer-scale microstructure could be observed as consisting of large particles (~1m in diameter) of starting powder -SiC and small particles (~1m in diameter) of -SiC formed during the reaction (Si+CSiC) with the residual silicon filling the remaining porosity. Also, it was identified that the -SiC formed during the reaction referred to the cubic (3C) polytype and the -SiC of starting powder referred to the hexagonal (6H) polytype.

Abstract: Direct evidences of hydrogen loosely trapped between graphene layers in nanostructured graphite prepared by mechanical milling in a hydrogen atmosphere are presented, based on a combinational study of FT-IR, electron diffraction (ED) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). The FT-IR spectrum of nanostructured graphite exhibited a new broad absorption band at very low frequencies around 660 cm-1, which almost disappeared by annealing up to 800 K. ED and plasmon peaks in EELS detected the unusual shrinkage and subsequent expansion of the fragmented graphene interlayer distance by hydrogen incorporation and desorption with annealing, well correlated with the change in intensity of the 660 cm-1 IR band. All the present results support our previous studies [S. Muto et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 44, 2061 (2005); T. Kimura et al, J. Alloys and Compounds 413, 150 (2006).].

Abstract: We have investigated the modulated structure of the misfit-layered crystal Bi1.8Sr2.0Rh1.6Ox by means of electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy. This compound consists of two interpenetrating subsystems of a hexagonal RhO2 sheet and a distorted four-layered rock-salt-type (Bi,Sr)O block. Both subsystems have common a-, c-axes and β-angles with a = 5.28 Å, c = 29.77 Å and β = 93.7º. On the other hand, the crystal structure is incommensurated parallel to the b-axes, among which b1 = 3.07 Å for the RhO2 sheet and b2 = 4.88 Å for the (Bi,Sr)O block. The misfit ratio, b1/b2 ~ 0.63, characterizes the structural analogue as [Bi1.79Sr1.98Oy]0.63[RhO2]. This compound has two modulation vectors, i.e., q1 = – a* + 0.63b1* and q2 = 0.17b1* + c*, and the superspace group is assigned as the Cc(1β0, 0μ1)-type from the electron diffraction patterns. High-resolution images taken with the incident electron beam parallel to the a- and c-axes clearly show displacive as well as compositional modulations.

Abstract: A CBED (convergent-beam electron diffraction) method proposed by the present authors for chiral identification of enantiomorphic crystals has been successfully applied to intermetallic compounds with the point groups of 23, 422, 432 and 321. The intensity asymmetry of ZOLZ and/or FOLZ reflections of the Bijvoet pairs is easily recognized in CBED patterns with the incidence along the appropriate zone-axis orientations for each of the two members of the enantiomorphic pair and the intensity asymmetry with respect to the symmetry line is reversed upon changing the space group (handedness) from one to the other. Thus, the generality of the proposed method in identifying the chirality for all crystallographycally possible enantiomorphic crystals is verified.

Abstract: The development of solid electrolytic tantalum capacitors with MnO2 as counter electrode has been carried out in order to decrease the equivalent series resistance (ESR). Capacitor samples produced under different pyrolysis conditions have been characterized in terms of equivalent circuit parameters. The Ta/Ta2O5/MnO2 system has also been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray powder diffraction patterns obtained were inconclusive due to the MnO2 complex structure and to the presence of highly intense tantalum peaks that shadow interesting MnO2 diffraction peaks. Electron diffraction TEM results enabled the characterization of the microstructure and furthermore revealed the complex crystalline structure that affects the electrical properties of the semiconductor layer. A relation between the calculated circuit parameters and microstructure of MnO2 is discussed.