Development of an intelligent dose-reducing imaging method for the transmission electron microscope

• Project/Area Number: 24K08253
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 29020:Thin film/surface and interfacial physical properties-related
• Research Institution: National Institute for Materials Science
• Principal Investigator: Cretu Ovidiu 国立研究開発法人物質・材料研究機構, マテリアル基盤研究センター, 主任研究員 (60770112)
• Project Period (FY): 2024-04-01 – 2027-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2024)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000); Fiscal Year 2026: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000); Fiscal Year 2025: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000); Fiscal Year 2024: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000)
• Keywords: electron microscopy / low dose / scanning method

Outline of Research at the Start

Transmission electron microscopy has become ubiquitous in materials science, because of its ability to perform atomic-scale characterization of a wide variety of samples.

Under ideal conditions, the best electron microscopes can routinely achieve resolutions below 50pm. However, most materials are damaged by the high-energy electron beam. Therefore, the resolution of the images depends on the irradiation dose that the sample can tolerate.

The aim of this project is to create a new intelligent acquisition method for electron microscopy images which will significantly reduce the electron dose.