Electron microscopy with high accuracy and precision at atomic resolution: <i>In-situ</i> observation of a dielectric crystal under electric field

Abstract

Measuring atomic positions in-situ under an external electric field can provide important insights into the structure-property relationship of electronic materials. In this paper, we demonstrate picometer level accuracy and precision of atomic positions in single-crystalline SrTiO3 under an electric field through annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. By carrying out electrical biasing in-situ electron microscopy at the atomic scale, the lattice constant was measured with a precision of 9.0 pm under an electric field of ±0.57 kV/cm. In addition, the Ti position in the SrTiO3 unit cell was measured with an accuracy of 20.0 pm at a confidence level of greater than 93%. This opens up a possibility of characterizing functional electronic devices at atomic resolution under operative conditions.