• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.183-188
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• 2015

Due to the miniaturization of semiconductor devices, their crystal structure on the nanoscale must be analyzed. However, scanning electron microscope-electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has a limitation of resolution in nanoscale and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) can be used to analyze restrictive local structural information. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) automated crystal orientation and phase mapping using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (3D TEM-EBSD) was used to identify the crystal structure relationship between an epitaxially grown CdS interfacial layer and a $Cu(In_xGa_{x-1})Se_2$ (CIGS) solar cell layer. The 3D TEM-EBSD technique clearly defined the crystal orientation and phase of the epitaxially grown layers, making it useful for establishing the growth mechanism of functional nano-materials.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.158-163
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• 2012

Detailed comparison of low-voltage scanning electron microscopy and electron holography techniques for two-dimensional (2D) dopant profiling was carried out with using the same multilayered p-n junction specimen. The dopant profiles obtained from two methods are in good agreement with each other. It demonstrates that reliability of dopant profile measurement can be increased through precise comparison of 2D profiles obtained from various microscopic techniques.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.131-134
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• 2015

Here we show how by processing energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) data obtained using highly sensitive, new generation EDS detectors in the AZtec LayerProbe software we can obtain data of sufficiently high quality to non-destructively measure the number of layers in two-dimensional (2D) $MoS_2$ and $MoS_2/WSe_2$ and thereby enable the characterization of working devices based on 2D materials. We compare the thickness measurements with EDS to results from atomic force microscopy measurements. We also show how we can use electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to address fabrication challenges of 2D materials. Results from EBSD analysis of individual flakes of exfoliated $MoS_2$ obtained using the Nordlys Nano detector are shown to aid a better understanding of the exfoliation process which is still widely used to produce 2D materials for research purposes.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.223-225
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• 2017

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is arguably the most powerful tool used in structural biology. It is an important analytical technique that is used for gaining insight into the functional and molecular mechanisms of biomolecules involved in several physiological processes. Cryo-EM can be separated into the following three groups according to the analytical purposes and the features of the biological samples: cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), cryo-single-particle reconstruction, and cryo-electron crystallography. Cryo-tomography is a unique EM technique that is used to study intact biomolecular complexes within their original environments; it can provide mechanistic insights that are challenging for other EM-methods. However, the resolution of reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) models generated by cryo-ET is relatively low, while single-particle reconstruction can reproduce biomolecular structures having near-atomic resolution without the need for crystallization unless the samples are large (>200 kDa) and highly symmetrical. Cryo-electron crystallography is subdivided into the following two categories according to the types of samples: one category that deals with two-dimensional (2D) crystalline arrays and the other category that uses 3D crystals. These two categories of electron-crystallographic techniques use different diffraction data obtained from still diffraction and continuous-rotation diffraction. In this paper, we review crystal-based cryo-EM techniques and focus on the recently developed 3D electron-crystallographic technique called microcrystal-electron diffraction.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.275-278
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• 2008

Electron tomography (ET) is an electron microscopic technique for obtaining a 3-D image from any electron microscopy specimen and its application in biomedical science has been increased thanks to development of electron microscopy and related technologies during the last decade. There are few researches on ET in Korea during this period. Although the importance of ET has been recognized recently by many researchers, initial approach to electron tomographic research is not easy for beginners. The 4th International Congress on Electron Tomography (4 ICET) was held on Nov $5{\sim}8$, 2006, at San Diego. The program dealt instrumentation, reconstruction algorithm, visualization/quantitative analysis and electron tomographic presentation of biological specimen and nano particles. 1 have summarized oral presentations and analyzed the posters presented on the meeting. Cryo-electron microscopic system was popular system for ET and followed conventional transmission electron microscopic system. Cultured cell line and tissue were most popular specimens analyzed and microorganisms including bacteria and virus also constituted important specimens. This analysis provides a current state of art in ET research and a guide line for practical application of ET and further research strategies.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 2008

In Biology, Studies Using Electron Microscopy for making Cell Structure to 3D reconstruction very fast development. Recently, by using Cryo fixation, we can see cell 3D structure without structural change, instead of using chemical fixation which can change cell structure. Before using this technology, we could understand cell structures only in 2D images. But now, through cryo-ET, 3D reconstruction of cell structure without artificial structure changes can be possible and this technology will give us many advantages in Drug delivery and Nanothechnology.

• Vacuum Magazine
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.18-22
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• 2017

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a versatile and powerful technique that enables direct visualization of biological samples of sizes ranging from whole cell to near-atomic resolution details of a protein molecule. Thanks to numerous technical breakthroughs and monumental discoveries, 3D electron microscopy (3DEM) has become an indispensable tool in the field of structural biology. In particular, development of cryo-electron microscopy(cryo-EM) and computational image processing played pivotal role for the determination of 3D structures of complex biological systems at sub-molecular resolution. Here, basis of TEM and 3DEM will be introduced, especially focusing on technical advancements and practical applications. Also, future prospective of constantly evolving 3DEM field will be discussed, with an anticipation of great biological discoveries that were once considered impossible.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.3-7
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• 2017

The automatic equipment for three-dimensional electron microscopy (3DEM) can acquire serial sections of a large sample in a relatively short time, and is especially suitable for the connectomics, which is a field related to understanding the brain structure as a whole. As many results obtained through 3DEM using automatic serial sections have been published in the field of brain research, many researchers continue to apply this technique to various samples. We reviewed the equipment for automatic serial sectioning, the block preparation method, the limitations of 3DEM, and future directions.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.50
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• pp.17.1-17.9
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• 2020

Recent advances in fabrication have enabled radial-junction architectures for cost-effective and high-performance optoelectronic devices. Unlike a planar PN junction, a radial-junction geometry maximizes the optical interaction in the three-dimensional (3D) structures, while effectively extracting the generated carriers via the conformal PN junction. In this paper, we report characterizations of radial PN junctions that consist of p-type Si micropillars created by deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) and an n-type layer formed by phosphorus gas diffusion. We use electron-beam induced current (EBIC) microscopy to access the 3D junction profile from the sidewall of the pillars. Our EBIC images reveal uniform PN junctions conformally constructed on the 3D pillar array. Based on Monte-Carlo simulations and EBIC modeling, we estimate local carrier separation/collection efficiency that reflects the quality of the PN junction. We find the EBIC efficiency of the pillar array increases with the incident electron beam energy, consistent with the EBIC behaviors observed in a high-quality planar PN junction. The magnitude of the EBIC efficiency of our pillar array is about 70% at 10 kV, slightly lower than that of the planar device (≈ 81%). We suggest that this reduction could be attributed to the unpassivated pillar surface and the unintended recombination centers in the pillar cores introduced during the DRIE processes. Our results support that the depth-dependent EBIC approach is ideally suitable for evaluating PN junctions formed on micro/nanostructured semiconductors with various geometry.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.71-75
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• 2016

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) offers two-dimensional (2D) micrographs of three-dimensional (3D) objects due to its inherent operating mechanisms. To overcome this limitation, other devices have been used for quantitative morphological analysis. Many efforts have been made on the applications of software-based approaches to 3D reconstruction and measurements by SEM. Based on the acquisition of two stereo images, a multi-view technique consists of two parts: (i) geometric calibration and (ii) image matching. Quantitative morphological parameters such as height and depth could be nondestructively measured by SEM combined with special software programs. It is also possible to obtain conventional surface parameters such as roughness and volume of biomedical specimens through 3D SEM surface reconstruction. There is growing evidence that conventional 2D SEM without special electron detectors can be transformed to 3D SEM for quantitative measurements in biomedical research.