Imaging of the crystal structure of silicon nitride at 0.8 Ångström resolution Original Research Article

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy is utilized to examine the crystal structure of a silicon nitride ceramic using focus variation methods to achieve sub-ångström resolution at the absolute theoretical information limit of the transmission electron microscope. Specifically, crucial requirements of high instrumental stability, a coherent electron source and optimum imaging conditions have been met by the one-Ångstrom microscope (OÅM) at the National Center for Electron Microscopy in order to obtain a resolution of 0.8 Å. The resulting high-resolution images reveal the individual atom positions of the in-plane projected crystal structure of silicon nitride and permit detailed structural information. The images correspond closely to computed and simulated images of this crystal structure.