Electron Microscopy and Analysis 1995

Abstract

This book constitutes the proceedings of the biennial EMAG conference of the Electron Microscopy Group of the Institute of Physics. Always held in the UK, it nevertheless has the flavour of a European conference and even attracts electron microscopists from the USA and other countries. Last year it was held at the University of Birmingham (12 - 15 September 1995) and attracted 180 delegates from thirteen different countries. An impressive trade exhibition was held in the Great Hall of the University. It is not possible in these proceedings to capture the full, lively scientific and social impact of such a conference, but it is probably the quickest way of bringing oneself up to date with the remarkable developments in the instrumentation of electron microscopy and its impact on material science over the last two years in this fast moving field. The high standard of presentation by the authors is reflected in these proceedings and even those who attended the conference can benefit greatly from studying them afterwards, as it was not possible for any one person to attend all the presentations. It should also be emphasized that the Institute of Physics maintains a high standard of publication and all contributions are critically refereed during the conference. Authors must carry out any changes required by the panel of referees at the conference before the paper can be accepted for publication. The EMAG group has always been sensitive to new developments in microscopy. Thus, at this conference, for the first time, the UK Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM) Users Group sponsored a session on advanced scanning probe techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning tunelling microscopy (STM). These new techniques, operating mainly at the atomic level of resolution, call for an input from atomic physics in interpreting the results and planning the investigation. The images produced provide complementary information to those gained from conventional high resolution electron microscopy and energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The book is set out in three sections, starting with the Plenary Lectures, which give an overview of the latest developments in instrumentation, analytical techniques and results. More detailed presentations follow covering microanalysis, high resolution electron microscopy, crystallography and surface science. Solid state physics, including intermetallics, ceramics and composites also feature prominently.