Three-dimensional reconstruction of buried nanoparticles by element-sensitive tomography based on inelastically scattered electrons

Abstract

Energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy is used to image the nanocomposite FeAl+Y2O3, an oxide-dispersion-strengthened intermetallic alloy, over a tilt range of ±60° using inelastically scattered electrons only. The properties of electron spectroscopic imaging are exploited to recover a projection relationship between the three-dimensional chemical concentration distribution and the micrographs. This allows recovery of the full information on volume shape, distribution, and homogeneity of the buried nanoparticles by backprojection. Restrictions to low atomic number, common in bio-objects, are here overcome at the expense of higher electron exposures.