Abstract
Diffuse elastic scattering of electrons by single nanometer-sized defects in ion irradiated Au has been measured quantitatively. Diffuse scattering from isolated single dislocation loops is separated from Bragg scattering at a weakly excited diffraction peak. Results are compared with calculations for diffuse scattering of X-rays and electrons. The pattern in the diffuse scattering within a single reciprocal lattice plane often reveals the loop geometry, size, and interstitial or vacancy nature. Defect images using only diffuse scattering are achieved with high sensitivity and good resolution by a hollow-cone dark-field method.
Acknowledgements
The work at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, under contracts W-31-109-ENG-38 (ANL) and DEFG02-91-ER45439 (UIUC), respectively. The work by Z. Zhou and S. L. Dudarev at the UKAEA was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and by EURATOM.