3 Images in depth
Aberration-corrected STEM microscopy allows researchers to build a profile of a sample by imaging it at different depths. This image shows a dielectric stack of hafnium oxide, silicon oxide and silicon of the kind used to make modern transistors. The hafnium-oxide film appears as a solid yellow, and a single image of the silicon substrate shows the projected silicon atomic structure. Single hafnium atoms observed in the interfacial silicon-oxide layer are represented by coloured features showing the degree to which their location can be quantified in three dimensions using aberration-corrected STEM. Image: Klaus van Benthem, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.