Microsc. Microanal. Microstruct. 8, 115-123 (1997)
DOI: 10.1051/mmm:1997110

Shape Reconstruction of Partially Overlapping Objects in SEM Images: Application to Silver Halide Microcrystals

Volodymyr V. Kindratenko, Boris A. Treiger et Pierre J. M. Van Espen

Micro- and Trace Analysis Centre (MiTAC), Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp (UIA), 2610 Antwerp, Belgium

Abstract
A method for shape reconstruction and extraction from objects that have a certain regularity but are observed in a scanning electron microscopy image with some degree of overlap is presented. The proposed algorithm first calculates the curvature at each contour point of the object in the digitized binary image in order to detect the vertexes. Reconstruction of the shape of overlapping objects is then based on geometrical considerations using the information from the vertex co-ordinates. The procedure is independent of the size and orientation of the objects. The method is applied to the shape reconstruction of partially overlapping tabular silver halide microcrystals.

PACS
6480G - Microstructure.
0780 - Electron and ion microscopes and techniques.

Key words
crystal microstructure -- scanning electron microscopy -- silver compounds -- shape reconstruction -- partially overlapping objects -- SEM images -- silver halide microcrystals -- scanning electron microscopy image


© EDP Sciences 1997