Takehito Seki

Zeolites are used in industries as catalysts, ion exchangers, and molecular sieves because of their unique porous atomic structures. However, direct observation of zeolitic local atomic structures via electron microscopy is difficult owing to low electron irradiation resistance. Subsequently, their fundamental structure-property relationships remain unclear. A low-electron-dose imaging technique, optimum bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (OBF STEM), has recently been develop

Grain-boundary atomic structures of crystalline materials have long been believed to be commensurate with the crystal periodicity of the adjacent crystals. In the present study, we experimentally observed a Σ9 grain-boundary atomic structure of a bcc crystal (Fe-3%Si). It is found that the Σ9 grain-boundary structure is largely reconstructed and forms a dense packing of icosahedral clusters in its core. Combining with the detailed theoretical calculations, the Σ9 grain-boundary atomic structure

Differential-phase-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (DPC STEM) is a technique to directly visualize local electromagnetic field distribution inside materials and devices at very high spatial resolution. Owing to the recent progress in the development of high-speed segmented and pixelated detectors, DPC STEM now constitutes one of the major imaging modes in modern aberration-corrected STEM. While qualitative imaging of electromagnetic fields by DPC STEM is readily possible, quan

The structure of a highly ordered Al58Cu26Ir16 decagonal quasicrystal (d-QC), which is constructed by a periodic stack of quasiperiodic atomic planes, was investigated using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. The entire quasiperiodic structure can be well described based on the pentagonal Penrose lattice decorated with a decagonal columnar cluster 2 nm across, and the individual clusters apparently showed up with localized atomic disorder to various degree that blurs

Optimum bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (OBF STEM) is a recently developed low-dose imaging technique that uses a segmented or pixelated detector. While we previously reported that OBF STEM with a segmented detector has a higher efficiency than conventional STEM techniques such as annular bright field (ABF), the imaging efficiency is expected to be further improved by using a pixelated detector. In this study, we adopted a pixelated detector for the OBF technique and inves

Controlling nanoscale heat generation, dissipation, and transport is crucial for miniaturizing electronic devices and for designing highly efficient thermoelectric materials. However, it has been challenging to directly measure thermal properties at individual atom level. Herein, direct atomic-resolution column-by-column imaging of the rattling motion of Ba atoms in a clathrate compound Ba₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ using atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy

Identifying the one-to-one relationship between microstructures and magnetic properties is crucial for improving the coercivity of permanent magnets. Magnetic domain wall (DW) is an important local magnetic structure, whose width is closely related to the local magnetic properties of the magnets. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of conventional experimental methods, direct and precise measurements of nanoscale DW widths have been challenging. However, recent advancements in differential pha

Unique electrical properties emerging at nanoscale ferroelectric interfaces originate from the polarization induced charges. However, real-space characterization of polarization induced charges at nanoscale ferroelectric interfaces has been extremely challenging. Here, directly observing the nanoscale electric field by tilt-scan averaged differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy enables us to measure the spatially varying total charge density profiles across both head