Enhancing Dose Efficiency of Optimum Bright‐Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy Using a Phase‐Shifted Electron Probe

Small Methods 2026 Open access

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Authors: Mitsuru Nogami, Takehito Seki, Kousuke Ooe, Naoya Shibata
DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202501661
Cited by: 1
References: 21

Abstract

Observing beam-sensitive materials using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) at low electron dose conditions is challenging due to the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of images. In this study, we aimed to improve the SNR of optimum bright-field (OBF) STEM by introducing phase shifts to the incident electron probe using lens aberrations. Theoretical analysis and multislice simulations revealed that spherical aberration enhances low-frequency contrast without introducing image artifacts, unlike simple defocus, which causes oscillations in the contrast transfer function. This approach improves the visibility of structural features in low-dose conditions and may enable more efficient imaging of beam-sensitive materials such as zeolites.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques Advanced Materials Characterization Techniques

Publication details

Journal / source
Small Methods
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
10
Issue
11
Pages
e01661–e01661
Publication date
17 May 2026
Language
EN