Electron tomography for 3D imaging of nanoscale materials

Over the last two decades, electron tomography (ET), the combination of tomographic methods and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), has considerably contributed to provide new insights into the three-dimensional structure of nanoscale materials. In particular, emerging advances in nanoscience are inevitably linked to developments in quantitative twodimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) TEM characterization techniques. In many cases, ET is employed to reconstruct the 3D shape (faceting of crystals) and the distribution or the arrangement (assembly) of nanoparticles down to the nanometer and atomic scale. Moreover, it is used to reconstruct the full 3D morphology of complex nanomaterials and composites [10-13], which can be evaluated further as a basis for quantitative modelling of physical properties. Beyond these capabilities, ET reveals the 3D chemical composition of nanostructures by combining it with spectroscopic methods, such as, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). In specific cases, ET applied together with electron holography enables reconstructing electrostatic potentials in 3D, for example space-charge related diffusion potentials at pn-junctions in semiconductors. In ferromagnetic materials, this approach also allows for the 3D reconstruction of the internal remanent magnetic induction (B-field).