ELECTRON DIFFRACTION

AND IT’S APPLICATIONS

AYUSHMAAN SRIVASTAVA
DTU/2K20/B1/16
OVERVIEW

 Diffraction
 Electron Diffraction
 Applications of Electron Diffraction
 Electron Microscope
 Low energy electron diffraction
WHAT IS DIFFRACTION

 The phenomenon of bending of light around corners of an obstacle or aperture in the path
of light is known as Diffraction.
 Diffraction of Light was first explained by Fresnel.
 Diffraction is possible in all type of waves.
 Diffraction depends on two factors:
1) Size of obstacles or aperture
2) Wavelength of wave
 Size of obstacle or aperture should be nearly equal to the wavelength of wave.
[Diffraction pattern of a
red laser projected onto
a plate after passing
through a circular
aperture in another
plate.]
 WHAT IS ELETRON DIFFRACTION
HISTORY
 The de Broglie Hypothesis, formulated in 1924, predicts that moving particles should also behave as waves.

  De Broglie's formula was confirmed three years later for electrons with the observation of electron
diffraction in the Davisson-Germer experiment.
[Lester Germer and Clinton
Davisson]

[Experimental Setup]
WHAT IS ELECTRON DIFFRACTION

 Electron diffraction refers to the wave nature of electrons.

 It is basically a technique used to study matter by firing electrons at a sample and
observing the resulting interference pattern.
  In this phenomenon a moving electron can be regarded as a wave much like sound or
water waves.
APPLICATIONS
 It is used to investigate the nature of solid surfaces and surface films.
 It is used for evaluating bond angles and bond lengths in gases and vapours.
 It gives information about the electron distribution in a given sample.
 It is used for detecting small amount of impurity in sample.
 It is used in solid state physics and chemistry to study the crystal structure of solids.
 It is used to find the energy difference between conformers.
 It is used to study the short range order of amorphous solids.
 It is used widely in the field of medicine.
ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

 An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a

source of illumination.
 The wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible
light photons.
 This is why electron microscopes have a higher resolving power than light microscopes
and can reveal the structure of smaller objects.
 Electron microscopes use shaped magnetic fields to form electron optical lens systems that
are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope.
A modern transmission electron An electron microscope in 1933
microscope
TYPES OF ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

 Transmission electron microscope (TEM)

 Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
 Reflection electron microscope (REM)
 Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM)
 Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM)
Diagram of TEM TEM in 1976 Image of Pollen Grains on SEM

SEM with Open Chamber REM Image of an Ant in SEM

USES OF ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

 It is used to investigate the ultrastructure of a wide range of biological and inorganic

specimens.
 It is used for quality control and failure analysis.
 They produce electron micrographs using specialized digital cameras and frame grabbers
to capture the images.
LOW ENERGY ELECTRON
DIFFRACTION(LEED)
 Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) is a technique for the determination of the
surface structure of single-crystalline materials by bombardment with a collimated beam of
low-energy electrons (20–200 eV)
 The LEED pattern portrays the two dimensional structure of a surface.
 A sharp LEED pattern is obtained if surface is well ordered for long distances compared
with the wavelength of incident electron.
EXPERIMEMTAL STEUP OF LEED

 The main components of a LEED instrument are:

1) An electron gun.
2) Sample Container.
3) Grids
4) Phosphor Screen
WORKING WITH A SAMPLE

 First, the sample of the desired surface crystallographic orientation is initially cut and
prepared outside the vacuum chamber.
 After being mounted in the UHV chamber the sample is cleaned and flattened.
 Unwanted surface contaminants are removed by ion sputtering or by chemical processes
such as oxidation and reduction cycles.
 The surface is flattened by  heating at high temperatures.
 The sample is then analysed by a modern data acquisition system usually contains
a camera pointed to the screen for diffraction pattern visualization and a computer for data
recording and further analysis. 
LEED Pattern of Silicon Surface
ADVANTAGES OF LEED

 Relatively simple and cheap experimental setup.

 High surface sensitivity.
 Easy information on symmetry and shape of surface unit-cell.
 Atomic structure can be retrieved with high accuracy.