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Author Bladt, E.; Pelt, D.M.; Bals, S.; Batenburg, K.J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Electron tomography based on highly limited data using a neural network reconstruction technique Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 158 Issue 158 Pages 81-88  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Vision lab  
  Abstract Gold nanoparticles are studied extensively due to their unique optical and catalytical properties. Their exact shape determines the properties and thereby the possible applications. Electron tomography is therefore often used to examine the three-dimensional (3D) shape of nanoparticles. However, since the acquisition of the experimental tilt series and the 3D reconstructions are very time consuming, it is difficult to obtain statistical results concerning the 3D shape of nanoparticles. Here, we propose a new approach for electron tomography that is based on artificial neural networks. The use of a new reconstruction approach enables us to reduce the number of projection images with a factor of 5 or more. The decrease in acquisition time of the tilt series and use of an efficient reconstruction algorithm allows us to examine a large amount of nanoparticles in order to retrieve statistical results concerning the 3D shape.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000361574800011 Publication Date 2015-07-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 25 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes 335078 COLOURATOM; FWO; COST Action MP1207; 312483 ESTEEM2; esteem2jra4; ECASSara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 2.843; 2015 IF: 2.436  
  Call Number c:irua:126675 c:irua:126675 Serial 988  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Van Eyndhoven, G.; Kurttepeli, M.; van Oers, C.J.; Cool, P.; Bals, S.; Batenburg, K.J.; Sijbers, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Pore REconstruction and Segmentation (PORES) method for improved porosity quantification of nanoporous materials Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 148 Issue 148 Pages 10-19  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Vision lab; Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)  
  Abstract Electron tomography is currently a versatile tool to investigate the connection between the structure and properties of nanomaterials. However, a quantitative interpretation of electron tomography results is still far from straightforward. Especially accurate quantification of pore-space is hampered by artifacts introduced in all steps of the processing chain, i.e., acquisition, reconstruction, segmentation and quantification. Furthermore, most common approaches require subjective manual user input. In this paper, the PORES algorithm POre REconstruction and Segmentation is introduced; it is a tailor-made, integral approach, for the reconstruction, segmentation, and quantification of porous nanomaterials. The PORES processing chain starts by calculating a reconstruction with a nanoporous-specific reconstruction algorithm: the Simultaneous Update of Pore Pixels by iterative REconstruction and Simple Segmentation algorithm (SUPPRESS). It classifies the interior region to the pores during reconstruction, while reconstructing the remaining region by reducing the error with respect to the acquired electron microscopy data. The SUPPRESS reconstruction can be directly plugged into the remaining processing chain of the PORES algorithm, resulting in accurate individual pore quantification and full sample pore statistics. The proposed approach was extensively validated on both simulated and experimental data, indicating its ability to generate accurate statistics of nanoporous materials.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000345973000002 Publication Date 2014-08-23  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 7 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes Colouratom; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 2.843; 2015 IF: 2.436  
  Call Number c:irua:119083 Serial 2672  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Chen, D.; Goris, B.; Bleichrodt, F.; Heidari Mezerji, H.; Bals, S.; Batenburg, K.J.; de With, G.; Friedrich, H. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title The properties of SIRT, TVM, and DART for 3D imaging of tubular domains in nanocomposite thin-films and sections Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2014 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 147 Issue Pages 137-148  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract In electron tomography, the fidelity of the 3D reconstruction strongly depends on the employed reconstruction algorithm. In this paper, the properties of SIRT, TVM and DART reconstructions are studied with respect to having only a limited number of electrons available for imaging and applying different angular sampling schemes. A well-defined realistic model is generated, which consists of tubular domains within a matrix having slab-geometry. Subsequently, the electron tomography workflow is simulated from calculated tilt-series over experimental effects to reconstruction. In comparison with the model, the fidelity of each reconstruction method is evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively based on global and local edge profiles and resolvable distance between particles. Results show that the performance of all reconstruction methods declines with the total electron dose. Overall, SIRT algorithm is the most stable method and insensitive to changes in angular sampling. TVM algorithm yields significantly sharper edges in the reconstruction, but the edge positions are strongly influenced by the tilt scheme and the tubular objects become thinned. The DART algorithm markedly suppresses the elongation artifacts along the beam direction and moreover segments the reconstruction which can be considered a significant advantage for quantification. Finally, no advantage of TVM and DART to deal better with fewer projections was observed.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000343157400015 Publication Date 2014-08-19  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 42 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes Fwo Approved Most recent IF: 2.843; 2014 IF: 2.436  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:119073 Serial 2729  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author van Aarle, W.; Palenstijn, W.J.; De Beenhouwer, J.; Altantzis, T.; Bals, S.; Batenburg, K.J.; Sijbers, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title The ASTRA Toolbox: A platform for advanced algorithm development in electron tomography Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 157 Issue 157 Pages 35-47  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Vision lab  
  Abstract We present the ASTRA Toolbox as an open platform for 3D image reconstruction in tomography. Most of the software tools that are currently used in electron tomography offer limited flexibility with respect to the geometrical parameters of the acquisition model and the algorithms used for reconstruction. The ASTRA Toolbox provides an extensive set of fast and flexible building blocks that can be used to develop advanced reconstruction algorithms, effectively removing these limitations. We demonstrate this flexibility, the resulting reconstruction quality, and the computational efficiency of this toolbox by a series of experiments, based on experimental dual-axis tilt series.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Wos 000361002400005 Publication Date 2015-05-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 562 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the iMinds ICONMetroCT project,the IWT SBO Tom Food project and from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO),Project no. 639.072.005. Networking support was provided by the EXTREMA COST Action MP 1207. Sara Bals acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078 COLOURATOMS).; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 2.843; 2015 IF: 2.436  
  Call Number c:irua:127834 Serial 3974  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zanaga, D.; Altantzis, T.; Sanctorum, J.; Freitag, B.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title An alternative approach for ζ-factor measurement using pure element nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 164 Issue 164 Pages 11-16  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract It is very challenging to measure the chemical composition of hetero nanostructures in a reliable and quantitative manner. Here, we propose a novel and straightforward approach that can be used to quantify energy dispersive X-ray spectra acquired in a transmission electron microscope. Our method is based on a combination of electron tomography and the so-called ζ-factor technique. We will demonstrate the reliability of our approach as well as its applicability by investigating Au-Ag and Au-Pt hetero nanostructures. Given its simplicity, we expect that the method could become a new standard in the field of chemical characterization using electron microscopy.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000373526200002 Publication Date 2016-03-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 19 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant # 335078-COLOURATOMS) and the European Union under the FP7 (Integrated Infrastructure Initiative N. 312483 – ESTEEM2). The authors would also like to thank Luis M. Liz-Marzán, Ana Sánchez-Iglesias, Stefanos Mourdikoudis and Cristina Fernández-López for sample provision and useful discussions.; esteem2jra4; ECASSara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ Serial 4019  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Béché, A.; Juchtmans, R.; Verbeeck, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Efficient creation of electron vortex beams for high resolution STEM imaging Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 178 Issue 178 Pages 12-19  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The recent discovery of electron vortex beams carrying quantised angular momentum in the TEM has led to an active field of research, exploring a variety of potential applications including the possibility of mapping magnetic states at the atomic scale. A prerequisite for this is the availability of atomic sized electron vortex beams at high beam current and mode purity. In this paper we present recent progress showing that by making use of the Aharonov-Bohm effect near the tip of a long single domain ferromagnetic Nickel needle, a very efficient aperture for the production of electron vortex beams can be realised. The aperture transmits more than 99% of all electrons and provides a vortex mode purity of up to 92%. Placing this aperture in the condenser plane of a state of the art Cs corrected microscope allows us to demonstrate atomic resolution HAADF STEM images with spatial resolution better than 1 Angstrom, in agreement with theoretical expectations and only slightly inferior to the performance of a non-vortex probe on the same instrument.  
  Address EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Wos 000403862900003 Publication Date 2016-05-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 30 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes A.B. and J.V. acknowledge funding from the European Research Council under the 7th Framework Program (FP7), ERC Starting Grant No. 278510 VORTEX. J.V. acknowledges funding from FWO project G.0044.13N ('Charge ordering').; ECASJO_; Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number c:irua:134085 c:irua:134085UA @ admin @ c:irua:134085 Serial 4094  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Goris, B.; Meledina, M.; Turner, S.; Zhong, Z.; Batenburg, K.J.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Three dimensional mapping of Fe dopants in ceria nanocrystals using direct spectroscopic electron tomography Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 171 Issue 171 Pages 55-62  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Electron tomography is a powerful technique for the 3D characterization of the morphology of nanostructures. Nevertheless, resolving the chemical composition of complex nanostructures in 3D remains challenging and the number of studies in which electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is combined with tomography is limited. During the last decade, dedicated reconstruction algorithms have been developed for HAADF-STEM tomography using prior knowledge about the investigated sample. Here, we will use the prior knowledge that the experimental spectrum of each reconstructed voxel is a linear combination of a well-known set of references spectra in a so-called direct spectroscopic tomography technique. Based on a simulation experiment, it is shown that this technique provides superior results in comparison to conventional reconstruction methods for spectroscopic data, especially for spectrum images containing a relatively low signal to noise ratio. Next, this technique is used to investigate the spatial distribution of Fe dopants in Fe:Ceria nanoparticles in 3D. It is shown that the presence of the Fe2+ dopants is correlated with a reduction of the Ce atoms from Ce4+ towards Ce3+. In addition, it is demonstrated that most of the Fe dopants are located near the voids inside the nanoparticle.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000389106200007 Publication Date 2016-09-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 13 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The work was supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen) by project funding (G038116N, 3G004613) and by a post-doctoral research grants to B.G. S.B. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (Starting Grant no. COLOURATOMS 335078). K.J.B. acknowledges funding from The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) (program 639.072.005.). We would like to thank Dr. Hilde Poelman, Dr. Vladimir Galvita and Prof. Dr. Guy B. Marin for the synthesis of the investigated sample.; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number c:irua:135185 c:irua:135185 Serial 4123  
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Author Alania, M.; Altantzis, T.; De Backer, A.; Lobato, I.; Bals, S.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Depth sectioning combined with atom-counting in HAADF STEM to retrieve the 3D atomic structure Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 177 Issue 177 Pages 36-42  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Aberration correction in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has greatly improved the lateral and depth resolution. When using depth sectioning, a technique during which a series of images is recorded at different defocus values, single impurity atoms can be visualised in three dimensions. In this paper, we investigate new possibilities emerging when combining depth sectioning and precise atom-counting in order to reconstruct nanosized particles in three dimensions. Although the depth resolution does not allow one to precisely locate each atom within an atomic column, it will be shown that the depth location of an atomic column as a whole can be measured precisely. In this manner, the morphology of a nanoparticle can be reconstructed in three dimensions. This will be demonstrated using simulations and experimental data of a gold nanorod.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000401219800006 Publication Date 2016-11-09  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 13 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Union under the Seventh Framework Program under a contract for an Integrated Infrastructure Initiative. Reference No. 312483-ESTEEM2. S. Bals acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (Starting Grant No. COLOURATOMS 335078). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0374.13N, G.0369.15N and G.0368.15N) and a post-doctoral grant to A. De Backer and T. Altantzis. The authors are grateful to Professor Luis M. Liz-Marzán for providing the sample.; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:138015UA @ admin @ c:irua:138015 Serial 4316  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zanaga, D.; Altantzis, T.; Sanctorum, J.; Freitag, B.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title An alternative approach for \zeta-factor measurement using pure element nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 164 Issue Pages 11-16  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract It is very challenging to measure the chemical composition of hetero nanostructures in a reliable and quantitative manner. Here, we propose a novel and straightforward approach that can be used to quantify energy dispersive X-ray spectra acquired in a transmission electron microscope. Our method is based on a combination of electron tomography and the so-called zeta-factor technique. We will demonstrate the reliability of our approach as well as its applicability by investigating Au-Ag and Au-Pt hetero nanostructures. Given its simplicity, we expect that the method could become a new standard in the field of chemical characterization using electron microscopy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000373526200002 Publication Date 2016-03-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 19 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes ; The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant # 335078-COLOURATOMS) and the European Union under the FP7 (Integrated Infrastructure Initiative N. 312483 – ESTEEM2). ; ecas_Sara Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:133259 Serial 4439  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhong, Z.; Goris, B.; Schoenmakers, R.; Bals, S.; Batenburg, K.J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title A bimodal tomographic reconstruction technique combining EDS-STEM and HAADF-STEM Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 174 Issue 174 Pages 35-45  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract A three-dimensional (3D) chemical characterization of nanomaterials can be obtained using tomography based on high angle annular dark field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) or energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) STEM. These two complementary techniques have both advantages and disadvantages. The Z-contrast images have good image quality but lack robustness in the compositional analysis, while the elemental maps give more element-specific information, but at a low signal-to-noise ratio and a longer exposure time. Our aim is to combine these two types of complementary information in one single tomographic reconstruction process. Therefore, an imaging model is proposed combining both HAADF-STEM

and EDS-STEM. Based on this model, the elemental distributions can be reconstructed using both types of information simultaneously during the reconstruction process. The performance of the new technique is evaluated using simulated data and real experimental data. The results demonstrate that combining two imaging modalities leads to tomographic reconstructions with suppressed noise and enhanced contrast.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000403342200005 Publication Date 2016-12-11  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 26 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes This research is supported by the Dutch Technology Foundation STW (http://www.stw.nl/), which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and which is partly funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation under project number 13314. It is also supported by the Flemish research foundation (FWO Vlaanderen) by project funding (G038116N) and a postdoctoral research grant to B.G. Funding from the European Research Council (Starting Grant No. COLOURATOMS 335078) is acknowledged by S.B. The authors would like to thank Dr. Bernd Rieger and Dr. Richard Aveyard for useful discussions, and Prof. Dr. Luis M. Liz-Marzan for providing the investigated samples. We also acknowledge COST Action MP1207 for networking support. (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara; Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:141719UA @ admin @ c:irua:141719 Serial 4484  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhuge, X.; Jinnai, H.; Dunin-Borkowski, R.E.; Migunov, V.; Bals, S.; Cool, P.; Bons, A.-J.; Batenburg, K.J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Automated discrete electron tomography – Towards routine high-fidelity reconstruction of nanomaterials Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 175 Issue 175 Pages 87-96  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)  
  Abstract Electron tomography is an essential imaging technique for the investigation of morphology and 3D structure of nanomaterials. This method, however, suffers from well-known missing wedge artifacts due to a restricted tilt range, which limits the objectiveness, repeatability and efficiency of quantitative structural analysis. Discrete tomography represents one of the promising reconstruction techniques for materials science, potentially capable of delivering higher fidelity reconstructions by exploiting the prior knowledge of the limited number of material compositions in a specimen. However, the application of discrete tomography to practical datasets remains a difficult task due to the underlying challenging mathematical problem. In practice, it is often hard to obtain consistent reconstructions from experimental datasets. In addition, numerous parameters need to be tuned manually, which can lead to bias and non-repeatability. In this paper, we present the application of a new

iterative reconstruction technique, named TVR-DART, for discrete electron tomography. The technique is capable of consistently delivering reconstructions with significantly reduced missing wedge artifacts for a variety of challenging data and imaging conditions, and can automatically estimate its key parameters. We describe the principles of the technique and apply it to datasets from three different types of samples acquired under diverse imaging modes. By further reducing the available tilt range and number of projections, we show that the

proposed technique can still produce consistent reconstructions with minimized missing wedge artifacts. This new development promises to provide the electron microscopy community with an easy-to-use and robust tool for high-fidelity 3D characterization of nanomaterials.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000403342500008 Publication Date 2017-01-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 22 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes This work has been supported in part by the Stichting voor de Technische Wetenschappen (STW) through a personal grant (Veni,13610), and was in part by ExxonMobil Chemical Europe Inc. The authors further acknowledge financial support from the University of Antwerp through BOF GOA funding. S.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS). R.D.B. is grateful for funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/ ERC grant agreement number 320832. Thomas Altantzis is gratefully acknowledged for acquiring the Anatase nanosheets dataset. (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara; Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:141218UA @ admin @ c:irua:141218 Serial 4485  
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Author Alania, M.; De Backer, A.; Lobato, I.; Krause, F.F.; Van Dyck, D.; Rosenauer, A.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title How precise can atoms of a nanocluster be located in 3D using a tilt series of scanning transmission electron microscopy images? Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 181 Issue 181 Pages 134-143  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Vision lab  
  Abstract In this paper, we investigate how precise atoms of a small nanocluster can ultimately be located in three dimensions (3D) from a tilt series of images acquired using annular dark field (ADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Therefore, we derive an expression for the statistical precision with which the 3D atomic position coordinates can be estimated in a quantitative analysis. Evaluating this statistical precision as a function of the microscope settings also allows us to derive the optimal experimental design. In this manner, the optimal angular tilt range, required electron dose, optimal detector angles, and number of projection images can be determined.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000411170800016 Publication Date 2016-12-15  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 3 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Union under the Seventh Framework Program under a contract for an Integrated Infrastructure Initiative. Reference No. 312483-ESTEEM2. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0374.13N, G.0369.15N, G.0368.15N, and WO.010.16N) and a post-doctoral grant to A. De Backer, and from the DFG under contract No. RO-2057/4-2. Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:144432 Serial 4618  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Gauquelin, N.; van den Bos, K.H.W.; Béché, A.; Krause, F.F.; Lobato, I.; Lazar, S.; Rosenauer, A.; Van Aert, S.; Verbeeck, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Determining oxygen relaxations at an interface: A comparative study between transmission electron microscopy techniques Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 181 Issue 181 Pages 178-190  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Nowadays, aberration corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a popular method to characterise nanomaterials at the atomic scale. Here, atomically resolved images of nanomaterials are acquired, where the contrast depends on the illumination, imaging and detector conditions of the microscope. Visualization of light elements is possible when using low angle annular dark field (LAADF) STEM, annular bright field (ABF) STEM, integrated differential phase contrast (iDPC) STEM, negative spherical aberration imaging (NCSI) and imaging STEM (ISTEM). In this work, images of a NdGaO3-La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (NGO-LSMO) interface are quantitatively evaluated by using statistical parameter estimation theory. For imaging light elements, all techniques are providing reliable results, while the techniques based on interference contrast, NCSI and ISTEM, are less robust in terms of accuracy for extracting heavy column locations. In term of precision, sample drift and scan distortions mainly limits the STEM based techniques as compared to NCSI. Post processing techniques can, however, partially compensate for this. In order to provide an outlook to the future, simulated images of NGO, in which the unavoidable presence of Poisson noise is taken into account, are used to determine the ultimate precision. In this future counting noise limited scenario, NCSI and ISTEM imaging will provide more precise values as compared to the other techniques, which can be related to the mechanisms behind the image recording.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000411170800022 Publication Date 2017-06-03  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 34 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0044.13N, G.0374.13N, G.0368.15N, G.0369.15N), and by a Ph.D. grant to K.H.W.v.d.B. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope used for this study was partly funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. A.B. and N.G. acknowledge the EUROTAPES project (FP7-NMP.2011.2.2-1 Grant no.280432) which partly funded this study. N.G., A.B. and J.V. acknowledge funding from the European Research Council under the 7th Framework Program (FP7), ERC Starting Grant 278510 VORTEX. The research leading to these results has received funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Contract No. RO 2057/4-2 and the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement 312483 – ESTEEM2. We thank Prof. G. Koster from the University of Twente for kindly providing us with the LSMO-NGO test sample. Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:144435UA @ admin @ c:irua:144435 Serial 4620  
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Author De wael, A.; De Backer, A.; Jones, L.; Nellist, P.D.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Hybrid statistics-simulations based method for atom-counting from ADF STEM images Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 177 Issue 177 Pages 69-77  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract A hybrid statistics-simulations based method for atom-counting from annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF STEM) images of monotype crystalline nanostructures is presented. Different atom-counting methods already exist for model-like systems. However, the increasing relevance of radiation damage in the study of nanostructures demands a method that allows atom-counting from low dose images with a low signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, the hybrid method directly includes prior knowledge from image simulations into the existing statistics-based method for atom-counting, and accounts in this manner for possible discrepancies between actual and simulated experimental conditions. It is shown by means of simulations and experiments that this hybrid method outperforms the statistics-based method, especially for low electron doses and small nanoparticles. The analysis of a simulated low dose image of a small nanoparticle suggests that this method allows for far more reliable quantitative analysis of beam-sensitive materials.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000401219800010 Publication Date 2017-01-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 8 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0374.13N, G.0368.15N, G.0369.15N, and WO.010.16N), and a postdoctoral research Grant to A. De Backer. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement 312483 – ESTEEM2 (Integrated Infrastructure Initiative-I3). The authors are grateful to G.T. Martinez for providing image simulations. Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:141718 Serial 4486  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhong, Z.; Aveyard, R.; Rieger, B.; Bals, S.; Palenstijn, W.J.; Batenburg, K.J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Automatic correction of nonlinear damping effects in HAADF-STEM tomography for nanomaterials of discrete compositions Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 184 Issue 184 Pages 57-65  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('HAADF-STEM tomography is a common technique for characterizing the three-dimensional morphology of nanomaterials. In conventional tomographic reconstruction algorithms, the image intensity is assumed to be a linear projection of a physical property of the specimen. However, this assumption of linearity is not completely valid due to the nonlinear damping of signal intensities. The nonlinear damping effects increase w.r.t the specimen thickness and lead to so-called \u0022cupping artifacts\u0022, due to a mismatch with the linear model used in the reconstruction algorithm. Moreover, nonlinear damping effects can strongly limit the applicability of advanced reconstruction approaches such as Total Variation Minimization and discrete tomography. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for automatically correcting the nonlinear effects and the subsequent cupping artifacts. It is applicable to samples in which chemical compositions can be segmented based on image gray levels. The correction is realized by iteratively estimating the nonlinear relationship between projection intensity and sample thickness, based on which the projections are linearized. The correction and reconstruction algorithms are tested on simulated and experimental data. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.'));  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000417779800008 Publication Date 2017-10-31  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 8 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes ; This research is supported by the Dutch Technology Foundation STW (http:// www.stw.nl/), which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and which is partly funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation under project number 13314. Funding from the European Research Council (Starting grant no. COLOURATOMS 335078) is acknowledged by S. Bals. The authors would like to thank Dr. Thomas Altantzis and Dr. Bart Goris for providing the experimental data, and Prof. Dr. Luis M. Liz-Marzan for providing the investigated samples. ; ecas_sara Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:148501UA @ admin @ c:irua:148501 Serial 4867  
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Author Alania, M.; Lobato Hoyos, I.P.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Frozen lattice and absorptive model for high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy : a comparison study in terms of integrated intensity and atomic column position measurement Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 184 Issue A Pages 188-198  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('In this paper, both the frozen lattice (FL) and the absorptive potential (AP) approximation models are compared in terms of the integrated intensity and the precision with which atomic columns can be located from an image acquired using high angle annular dark field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The comparison is made for atoms of Cu, Ag, and Au. The integrated intensity is computed for both an isolated atomic column and an atomic column inside an FCC structure. The precision has been computed using the so-called Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB), which provides a theoretical lower bound on the variance with which parameters can be estimated. It is shown that the AP model results into accurate measurements for the integrated intensity only for small detector ranges under relatively low angles and for small thicknesses. In terms of the attainable precision, both methods show similar results indicating picometer range precision under realistic experimental conditions. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.'));  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000415650200022 Publication Date 2017-09-12  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes ; The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0374.13N, G.0369.15N, and G.0368.15N). A. Rosenauer is acknowledged for providing the STEMsim program. ; Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:147658 Serial 4877  
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Author Schryvers, D.; Salje, E.K.H.; Nishida, M.; De Backer, A.; Idrissi, H.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Quantification by aberration corrected (S)TEM of boundaries formed by symmetry breaking phase transformations Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 176 Issue Pages 194-199  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The present contribution gives a review of recent quantification work of atom displacements, atom site occupations and level of crystallinity in various systems and based on aberration corrected HR(S)TEM images. Depending on the case studied, picometer range precisions for individual distances can be obtained, boundary widths at the unit cell level determined or statistical evolutions of fractions of the ordered areas calculated. In all of these cases, these quantitative measures imply new routes for the applications of the respective materials.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000403992200026 Publication Date 2017-01-09  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 1 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (G.0064.10N, G.0393.11N, G.0374.13N, G.0368.15N, G.0369.15N) and the Flemish Hercules 3 program for large infrastructure as well as financial support from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007 – 2013) under Grant agreement no. 312483 (ESTEEM2). EKHS thanks EPSRC (EP/ K009702/1) and the Leverhulme trust (EM-2016-004) for support. DS and MN acknowledge financial support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS, Japan) through the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A: No. 26249090) and the Strategic Young Researcher Overseas Visits Program for Accelerating Brain Circulation (R2408). Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:149654 Serial 4914  
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Author Korneychuk, S.; Partoens, B.; Guzzinati, G.; Ramaneti, R.; Derluyn, J.; Haenen, K.; Verbeeck, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Exploring possibilities of band gap measurement with off-axis EELS in TEM Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 189 Issue 189 Pages 76-84  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract A technique to measure the band gap of dielectric materials with high refractive index by means of energy electron loss spectroscopy (EELS) is presented. The technique relies on the use of a circular (Bessel) aperture and suppresses Cherenkov losses and surface-guided light modes by enforcing a momentum transfer selection. The technique also strongly suppresses the elastic zero loss peak, making the acquisition, interpretation and signal to noise ratio of low loss spectra considerably better, especially for excitations in the first few eV of the EELS spectrum. Simulations of the low loss inelastic electron scattering probabilities demonstrate the beneficial influence of the Bessel aperture in this setup even for high accelerating voltages. The importance of selecting the optimal experimental convergence and collection angles is highlighted. The effect of the created off-axis acquisition conditions on the selection of the transitions from valence to conduction bands is discussed in detail on a simplified isotropic two band model. This opens the opportunity for deliberately selecting certain transitions by carefully tuning the microscope parameters. The suggested approach is experimentally demonstrated and provides good signal to noise ratio and interpretable band gap signals on reference samples of diamond, GaN and AlN while offering spatial resolution in the nm range. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000432868500008 Publication Date 2018-03-29  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 7 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes ; S.K., B.P. and J.V. acknowledge funding from the “Geconcentreerde Onderzoekacties” (GOA) project “Solarpaint” of the University of Antwerp. S.K. and J.V. also acknowledge the FWO-Vlaanderen for financial support under contract G.0044.13N 'Charge ordering'. Financial support via the Methusalem “NANO” network is acknowledged. GG acknowledges support from a postdoctoral fellowship grant from the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek-Vlaanderen (FWO). ; Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:151472UA @ admin @ c:irua:151472 Serial 5026  
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Author Grieb, T.; Krause, F.F.; Schowalter, M.; Zillmann, D.; Sellin, R.; Müller-Caspary, K.; Mahr, C.; Mehrtens, T.; Bimberg, D.; Rosenauer, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Strain analysis from nano-beam electron diffraction : influence of specimen tilt and beam convergence Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 190 Issue 190 Pages 45-57  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Strain analyses from experimental series of nano-beam electron diffraction (NBED) patterns in scanning transmission electron microscopy are performed for different specimen tilts. Simulations of NBED series are presented for which strain analysis gives results that are in accordance with experiment. This consequently allows to study the relation between measured strain and actual underlying strain. A two-tilt method which can be seen as lowest-order electron beam precession is suggested and experimentally implemented. Strain determination from NBED series with increasing beam convergence is performed in combination with the experimental realization of a probe-forming aperture with a cross inside. It is shown that using standard evaluation techniques, the influence of beam convergence on spatial resolution is lower than the influence of sharp rings around the diffraction disc which occur at interfaces and which are caused by the tails of the intensity distribution of the electron probe. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000432868800006 Publication Date 2018-04-12  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 1 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under Contracts RO2057/11-1 and RO2057/12-1. ; Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:151454 Serial 5041  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author van den Bos, K.H.W.; Janssens, L.; De Backer, A.; Nellist, P.D.; Van Aert, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The atomic lensing model: new opportunities for atom-by-atom metrology of heterogeneous nanomaterials Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 203 Issue Pages 155  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The atomic lensing model has been proposed as a promising method facilitating atom-counting in heterogeneous nanocrystals [1]. Here, image simulations will validate the model, which describes dynamical diffraction as a superposition of individual atoms focussing the incident electrons. It will be demonstrated that the model is reliable in the annular dark field regime for crystals having columns containing dozens of atoms. By using the principles of statistical detection theory, it will be shown that this model gives new opportunities for detecting compositional differences.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000465021000020 Publication Date 2018-12-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 4 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0369.15N, G.0502.18N and WO.010.16N), and by personal grants to K.H.W. van den Bos and A. De Backer. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 770887). Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @UA @ admin @ c:irua:155721 Serial 5074  
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Author Fatermans, J.; Van Aert, S.; den Dekker, A.J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The maximum a posteriori probability rule for atom column detection from HAADF STEM images Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 201 Issue Pages 81-91  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Vision lab  
  Abstract Recently, the maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability rule has been proposed as an objective and quantitative method to detect atom columns and even single atoms from high-resolution high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images. The method combines statistical parameter estimation and model-order selection using a Bayesian framework and has been shown to be especially useful for the analysis of the structure of beam-sensitive nanomaterials. In order to avoid beam damage, images of such materials are usually acquired using a limited incoming electron dose resulting in a low contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) which makes visual inspection unreliable. This creates a need for an objective and quantitative approach. The present paper describes the methodology of the MAP probability rule, gives its step-by-step derivation and discusses its algorithmic implementation for atom column detection. In addition, simulation results are presented showing that the performance of the MAP probability rule to detect the correct number of atomic columns from HAADF STEM images is superior to that of other model-order selection criteria, including the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Moreover, the MAP probability rule is used as a tool to evaluate the relation between STEM image quality measures and atom detectability resulting in the introduction of the so-called integrated CNR (ICNR) as a new image quality measure that better correlates with atom detectability than conventional measures such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and CNR.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000466343800009 Publication Date 2019-02-04  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 1 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (No. W.O.010.16N, No. G.0368.15N, No. G.0502.18N). This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 770887). Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @UA @ admin @ c:irua:157176 Serial 5153  
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Author Müller-Caspary, K.; Krause, F.F.; Winkler, F.; Béché, A.; Verbeeck, J.; Van Aert, S.; Rosenauer, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Comparison of first moment STEM with conventional differential phase contrast and the dependence on electron dose Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 203 Issue 203 Pages 95-104  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract This study addresses the comparison of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) measurements of momentum transfers using the first moment approach and the established method that uses segmented annular detectors. Using an ultrafast pixelated detector to acquire four-dimensional, momentum-resolved STEM signals, both the first moment calculation and the calculation of the differential phase contrast (DPC) signals are done for the same experimental data. In particular, we investigate the ability to correct the segment-based signal to yield a suitable approximation of the first moment for cases beyond the weak phase object approximation. It is found that the measurement of momentum transfers using segmented detectors can approach the first moment measurement as close as 0.13 h/nm in terms of a root mean square (rms) difference in 10 nm thick SrTiO3 for a detector with 16 segments. This amounts to 35% of the rms of the momentum transfers. In addition, we present a statistical analysis of the precision of first moment STEM as a function of dose. For typical experimental settings with recent hardware such as a Medipix3 Merlin camera attached to a probe-corrected STEM, we find that the precision of the measurement of momentum transfers stagnates above certain doses. This means that other instabilities such as specimen drift or scan noise have to be taken into account seriously for measurements that target, e.g., the detection of bonding effects in the charge density.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000465021000013 Publication Date 2018-12-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 25 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes ; The direct electron detector (Medipix3 Merlin) was funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. K. Muller-Caspary acknowledges funding from the Initiative and Network Fund of the Helmholtz Association within the framework of the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group moreSTEM (VH-NG-1317) at Forschungszentrum Julich, Germany. F. F. Krause acknowledges funding from the Central Research Development Fund of the University of Bremen, Germany. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 770887). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) and the Research Fund of the University of Antwerp. ; Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:160213 Serial 5242  
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Author Velazco, A.; Nord, M.; Béché, A.; Verbeeck, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Evaluation of different rectangular scan strategies for STEM imaging Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume Issue Pages 113021  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract STEM imaging is typically performed by raster scanning a focused electron probe over a sample. Here we investigate and compare three different scan patterns, making use of a programmable scan engine that allows to arbitrarily set the sequence of probe positions that are consecutively visited on the sample. We compare the typical raster scan with a so-called ‘snake’ pattern where the scan direction is reversed after each row and a novel Hilbert scan pattern that changes scan direction rapidly and provides an homogeneous treatment of both scan directions. We experimentally evaluate the imaging performance on a single crystal test sample by varying dwell time and evaluating behaviour with respect to sample drift. We demonstrate the ability of the Hilbert scan pattern to more faithfully represent the high frequency content of the image in the presence of sample drift. It is also shown that Hilbert scanning provides reduced bias when measuring lattice parameters from the obtained scanned images while maintaining similar precision in both scan directions which is especially important when e.g. performing strain analysis. Compared to raster scanning with flyback correction, both snake and Hilbert scanning benefit from dose reduction as only small probe movement steps occur.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000544042800007 Publication Date 2020-05-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.2 Times cited 13 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes A.V., A.B. and J.V. acknowledge funding through FWO project G093417N ('Compressed sensing enabling low dose imaging in transmission electron microscopy') from the Flanders Research Fund. M.N. received support for this work from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 838001. J.V acknowledges funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 823717 – ESTEEM3. Approved Most recent IF: 2.2; 2020 IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:169225 Serial 6369  
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Author Fatermans, J.; den Dekker, Aj.; Müller-Caspary, K.; Gauquelin, N.; Verbeeck, J.; Van Aert, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Atom column detection from simultaneously acquired ABF and ADF STEM images Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 219 Issue Pages 113046  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Vision lab  
  Abstract In electron microscopy, the maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability rule has been introduced as a tool to determine the most probable atomic structure from high-resolution annular dark-field (ADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images exhibiting low contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Besides ADF imaging, STEM can also be applied in the annular bright-field (ABF) regime. The ABF STEM mode allows to directly visualize light-element atomic columns in the presence of heavy columns. Typically, light-element nanomaterials are sensitive to the electron beam, limiting the incoming electron dose in order to avoid beam damage and leading to images exhibiting low CNR. Therefore, it is of interest to apply the MAP probability rule not only to ADF STEM images, but to ABF STEM images as well. In this work, the methodology of the MAP rule, which combines statistical parameter estimation theory and model-order selection, is extended to be applied to simultaneously acquired ABF and ADF STEM images. For this, an extension of the commonly used parametric models in STEM is proposed. Hereby, the effect of specimen tilt has been taken into account, since small tilts from the crystal zone axis affect, especially, ABF STEM intensities. Using simulations as well as experimental data, it is shown that the proposed methodology can be successfully used to detect light elements in the presence of heavy elements.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000594768500005 Publication Date 2020-06-01  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.2 Times cited 9 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (No. W.O.010.16N, No. G.0368.15N, No. G.0502.18N, EOS 30489208). This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 770887). The authors acknowledge funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 823717 – ESTEEM3. The direct electron detector (Medipix3, Quantum Detectors) was funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. K. M. C. acknowledges funding from the Initiative and Network Fund of the Helmholtz Association (Germany) under contract VH-NG-1317. The authors thank Mark Huijben from the University of Twente (Enschede, The Netherlands) for providing the LiMn2O4 sample used in section 4.2 of this study. N. G., J. V., and S. V. A. acknowledge funding from the University of Antwerp through the Concerted Research Actions (GOA) project Solarpaint and the TOP project. Approved Most recent IF: 2.2; 2020 IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:169706 Serial 6373  
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Author Prabhakara, V.; Jannis, D.; Guzzinati, G.; Béché, A.; Bender, H.; Verbeeck, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title HAADF-STEM block-scanning strategy for local measurement of strain at the nanoscale Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 219 Issue Pages 113099  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Lattice strain measurement of nanoscale semiconductor devices is crucial for the semiconductor industry as strain substantially improves the electrical performance of transistors. High resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM) imaging is an excellent tool that provides spatial resolution at the atomic scale and strain information by applying Geometric Phase Analysis or image fitting procedures. However, HR-STEM images regularly suffer from scanning distortions and sample drift during image acquisition. In this paper, we propose a new scanning strategy that drastically reduces artefacts due to drift and scanning distortion, along with extending the field of view. It consists of the acquisition of a series of independent small subimages containing an atomic resolution image of the local lattice. All subimages are then analysed individually for strain by fitting a nonlinear model to the lattice images. The method allows flexible tuning of spatial resolution and the field of view within the limits of the dynamic range of the scan engine while maintaining atomic resolution sampling within the subimages. The obtained experimental strain maps are quantitatively benchmarked against the Bessel diffraction technique. We demonstrate that the proposed scanning strategy approaches the performance of the diffraction technique while having the advantage that it does not require specialized diffraction cameras.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000594768500006 Publication Date 2020-09-01  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.2 Times cited 4 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes A.B. D.J. and J.V. acknowledge funding through FWO project G093417N ('Compressed sensing enabling low dose imaging in transmission electron microscopy') from the Flanders Research Fund. J.V acknowledges funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 823717 – ESTEEM3. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope and the direct electron detector used in the diffraction experiments was partly funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. This project has received funding from the GOA project “Solarpaint” of the University of Antwerp. GG acknowledges support from a postdoctoral fellowship grant from the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen (FWO). Special thanks to Dr. Thomas Nuytten, Prof. Dr. Wilfried Vandervorst, Dr. Paola Favia, Dr. Olivier Richard from IMEC, Leuven and Prof. Dr. Sara Bals from EMAT, Antwerp for their continuous support and collaboration with the project and to the IMEC processing group for the device fabrication. Approved Most recent IF: 2.2; 2020 IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:172485 Serial 6404  
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Author Vanrompay, H.; Skorikov, A.; Bladt, E.; Béché, A.; Freitag, B.; Verbeeck, J.; Bals, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Fast versus conventional HAADF-STEM tomography of nanoparticles: advantages and challenges Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 221 Issue Pages 113191  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract HAADF-STEM tomography is a widely used experimental technique for analyzing nanometer-scale crystalline structures of a large variety of materials in three dimensions. Unfortunately, the acquisition of conventional HAADF-STEM tilt series can easily take up one hour or more, depending on the complexity of the experiment. It is therefore far from straightforward to investigate samples that do not withstand long acquisition or to acquire large amounts of tilt series during a single TEM experiment. The latter would lead to the ability to obtain statistically meaningful 3D data, or to perform in situ 3D characterizations with a much shorter time resolution. Various HAADF-STEM acquisition strategies have been proposed to accelerate the tomographic acquisition and reduce the required electron dose. These methods include tilting the holder continuously while acquiring a projection “movie” and a hybrid, incremental, methodology which combines the benefits of the conventional and continuous technique. However, until now an experimental evaluation has been lacking. In this paper, the different acquisition strategies will be experimentally compared in terms of speed, resolution and electron dose. This evaluation will be performed based on experimental tilt series acquired for various metallic nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes. We discuss the data processing involved with the fast HAADF-STEM tilt series and provide a general guideline when which acquisition strategy should be preferentially used.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000612539600003 Publication Date 2020-12-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 15 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes We acknowledge Prof. Luis M. Liz-Marzán and co-workers of the Bionanoplasmonics Laboratory, CIC biomaGUNE, Spain for providing the Au@Ag nanoparticles, Prof. Sara. E. Skrabalak and co-workers of Indiana University, United States for the provision of the Au octopods and Prof. Teri W. Odom of Northwestern University, United States for the provision of the Au nanostars. H.V. acknowledges financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO grant 1S32617N). S.B acknowledges financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO grant G.0381.16N). This project received funding as well from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 731019 (EUSMI) and No 815128 (REALNANO). The authors acknowledge the entire EMAT technical staff for their support.; sygma Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:174551 Serial 6660  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author De wael, A.; De Backer, A.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Hidden Markov model for atom-counting from sequential ADF STEM images: Methodology, possibilities and limitations Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 219 Issue Pages 113131  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract We present a quantitative method which allows us to reliably measure dynamic changes in the atomic structure of monatomic crystalline nanomaterials from a time series of atomic resolution annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy images. The approach is based on the so-called hidden Markov model and estimates the number of atoms in each atomic column of the nanomaterial in each frame of the time series. We discuss the origin of the improved performance for time series atom-counting as compared to the current state-of-the-art atom-counting procedures, and show that the so-called transition probabilities that describe the probability for an atomic column to lose or gain one or more atoms from frame to frame are particularly important. Using these transition probabilities, we show that the method can also be used to estimate the probability and cross section related to structural changes. Furthermore, we explore the possibilities for applying the method to time series recorded under variable environmental conditions. The method is shown to be promising for a reliable quantitative analysis of dynamic processes such as surface diffusion, adatom dynamics, beam effects, or in situ experiments.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000594770500003 Publication Date 2020-10-03  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.2 Times cited Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 770887 and No. 823717 ESTEEM3). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through grants to A.D.w. and A.D.B. and projects G.0502.18N and EOS 30489208. Approved Most recent IF: 2.2; 2020 IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:172449 Serial 6417  
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Author Li, C.; Tardajos, A.P.; Wang, D.; Choukroun, D.; Van Daele, K.; Breugelmans, T.; Bals, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title A simple method to clean ligand contamination on TEM grids Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 221 Issue Pages 113195  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract Colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) including nanowires and nanosheets made by chemical methods involve many organic ligands. When the structure of NPs is investigated via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the organic ligands act as a source for e-beam induced deposition and this causes substantial build-up of carbon layers in the investigated areas, which is typically referred to as “contamination” in the eld of electron mi- croscopy. This contamination is often more severe for scanning TEM, a technique that is based on a focused electron beam and hence higher electron dose rate. In this paper, we report a simple and effective method to clean drop-cast TEM grids that contain NPs with ligands. Using a combination of activated carbon and ethanol, this method effectively reduces the amount of ligands on TEM grids, and therefore greatly improves the quality of electron microscopy images and subsequent analytical measurements. This ef cient and facile method can be helpful during electron microscopy investigation of different kinds of nanomaterials that suffer from ligand- induced contamination.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000612539600002 Publication Date 0000-00-00  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 10 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes This research was funded by the University Antwerp GOA project (ID 33928). DW acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020 program (grant 894254 SuprAtom). Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:174947 Serial 6666  
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Author De wael, A.; De Backer, A.; Lobato, I.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Modelling ADF STEM images using elliptical Gaussian peaks and its effects on the quantification of structure parameters in the presence of sample tilt Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume Issue Pages 113391  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract A small sample tilt away from a main zone axis orientation results in an elongation of the atomic columns in ADF STEM images. An often posed research question is therefore whether the ADF STEM image intensities of tilted nanomaterials should be quantified using a parametric imaging model consisting of elliptical rather than the currently used symmetrical peaks. To this purpose, simulated ADF STEM images corresponding to different amounts of sample tilt are studied using a parametric imaging model that consists of superimposed 2D elliptical Gaussian peaks on the one hand and symmetrical Gaussian peaks on the other hand. We investigate the quantification of structural parameters such as atomic column positions and scattering cross sections using both parametric imaging models. In this manner, we quantitatively study what can be gained from this elliptical model for quantitative ADF STEM, despite the increased parameter space and computational effort. Although a qualitative improvement can be achieved, no significant quantitative improvement in the estimated structure parameters is achieved by the elliptical model as compared to the symmetrical model. The decrease in scattering cross sections with increasing sample tilt is even identical for both types of parametric imaging models. This impedes direct comparison with zone axis image simulations. Nonetheless, we demonstrate how reliable atom-counting can still be achieved in the presence of small sample tilt.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000704334200001 Publication Date 2021-09-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 770887 and No. 823717 ESTEEM3). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through grants to A.D.w. and A.D.B. and projects G.0502.18N, G.0267.18N, and EOS 30489208. S.V.A. acknowledges TOP BOF funding from the University of Antwerp.; esteem3JRA; esteem3reported Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:181462 Serial 6810  
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Author Velazco, A.; Béché, A.; Jannis, D.; Verbeeck, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Reducing electron beam damage through alternative STEM scanning strategies, Part I: Experimental findings Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 232 Issue Pages 113398  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The highly energetic electrons in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) can alter or even completely destroy the structure of samples before sufficient information can be obtained. This is especially problematic in the case of zeolites, organic and biological materials. As this effect depends on both the electron beam and the sample and can involve multiple damage pathways, its study remained difficult and is plagued with irreproducibility issues, circumstantial evidence, rumors, and a general lack of solid data. Here we take on the experimental challenge to investigate the role of the STEM scan pattern on the damage behavior of a commercially available zeolite sample with the clear aim to make our observations as reproducible as possible. We make use of a freely programmable scan engine that gives full control over the tempospatial distribution of the electron probe on the sample and we use its flexibility to obtain multiple repeated experiments under identical conditions comparing the difference in beam damage between a conventional raster scan pattern and a newly proposed interleaved scan pattern that provides exactly the same dose and dose rate and visits exactly the same scan points. We observe a significant difference in beam damage for both patterns with up to 11 % reduction in damage (measured from mass loss). These observations demonstrate without doubt that electron dose, dose rate and acceleration voltage are not the only parameters affecting beam damage in (S)TEM experiments and invite the community to rethink beam damage as an unavoidable consequence of applied electron dose.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000714819200002 Publication Date 2021-10-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.2 Times cited 18 Open Access (down) OpenAccess  
  Notes A.V., D.J., A.B. and J.V. acknowledge funding from FWO project G093417N (’Compressed sensing enabling low dose imaging in transmission electron microscopy’) and G042920N (’Coincident event detection for advanced spectroscopy in transmission electron microscopy’). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 823717 ESTEEM3. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope was partly funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. J.V. acknowledges funding from GOA project “Solarpaint” of the University of Antwerp.; JRA; reported Approved Most recent IF: 2.2  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183282 Serial 6818  
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