Microsc. Microanal. Microstruct. 3, 233-241 (1992)
DOI: 10.1051/mmm:0199200302-3023300

Incoherence effects in reflection electron microscopy

Archie Howie¹, Mary Y. Lanzerotti^{1, 2} et Zhong Lin Wang<sup>3

1</sup>  Cavendish Laboratory, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHE, G.B.
²  Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14583, U.S.A.
³  Metals and Ceramics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6376, U.S.A.

Abstract
The phase contrast imaging of surface steps in reflection electron microscopy is analysed. It is shown that the typical images are seriously affected by incoherence effects and that this arises, not from the strong inelastic scattering which is often present, but from the effective angular spread in the illumination which is frequently determined by the width of the Bragg reflection.

PACS
6118 - Other methods of structure determination.
6837 - Microscopy of surfaces, interfaces, and thin films.
0778 - Electron, positron, and ion microscopes; electron diffractometers.

Key words
Reflection electron microscopy -- Phase contrast microscopy -- Inelastic scattering -- Incoherent scattering -- Image analysis -- Surface analysis


© EDP Sciences 1992