Microscopy and Microanalysis

Table of Contents - 2010 - Volume 16, Issue 02  

Materials Applications

Simulation Study of Aberration-Corrected High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy Imaging of Few-Layer-Graphene Stacking

Florence Nelsona1 c1, Alain C. Diebolda1 and Robert Hulla2

a1 Optical Physics Group, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University of Albany, 255 Fuller Rd., Albany, NY 12203, USA

a2 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th St., Troy, NY 12180, USA

Abstract

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. The high carrier mobility and mechanical robustness of single layer graphene make it an attractive material for “beyond CMOS” devices. The current work investigates through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image simulation the sensitivity of aberration-corrected HRTEM to the different graphene stacking configurations AAA/ABA/ABC as well as bilayers with rotational misorientations between the individual layers. High-angle annular dark field–scanning transmission electron microscopy simulation is also explored. Images calculated using the multislice approximation show discernable differences between the stacking sequences when simulated with realistic operating parameters in the presence of low random noise.

(Received July 16 2009)

(Accepted November 24 2009)

Key words

Correspondence:

c1 Corresponding author. E-mail: FNelson@uamail.albany.edu