Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy in the Electron Microscope

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS or ELS) has been used to investi­ gate the physical properties of solids for over 40 years in a handful of laboratories distributed around the world. More recently, electron micro­ scopists have become interested in EELS as a method of chemical analysis with the potential for achieving very high sensitivity and spatial resolution, and there is a growing awareness of the fact that the loss spectrum can provide structural information from a thin specimen. In comparison with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, for example, EELS is a fairly demand­ ing technique, requiring for its full exploitation a knowledge of atomic and solid-state physics, electron optics, and electronics. In writing this book, I have tried to gather together relevant information from these various fields. Chapter 1 begins at an elementary level; readers with some experience in EELS will be familiar with the content of the first two sections. Chapter 2 deals with instrumentation and experimental technique, and should con­ tain material of interest to researchers who want to get the best performance out of commercial equipment as well as those who contemplate building their own spectrometer or electron-detection system. Chapter 3 outlines the theory used to interpret spectral features, while Chapter 4 gives procedures for numerical processing of the energy-loss spectrum. Chapter 5 contains examples of practical applications of EELS and a discussion of radiation damage, spatial resolution, and detection limits.

Within the last 30 years, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) has become a standard analytical technique used in the transmission electron microscope to extract chemical and structural information down to the atomic level.  In two previous editions, Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy in the Electron Microscope has become the standard reference guide to the instrumentation, physics and procedures involved, and the kind of results obtainable. Within the last few years, the commercial availability of lens-aberration correctors and electron-beam monochromators has further increased the spatial and energy resolution of EELS. This thoroughly updated and revised Third Edition incorporates these new developments, as well as advances in electron-scattering theory, spectral and image processing, and recent applications in fields such as nanotechnology. The appendices now contain a listing of inelastic mean free paths and a description of more than 20 MATLAB programs for calculating EELS data.

• Considered the "Bible of EELS"
• Presents the only in-depth, single-author text for the still-expanding field of TEM-EELS
• Responds to many requests for the first new edition of this classic work since 1996
• Includes discussion of new spectrometer and detector designs, together with spectral-analysis techniques such as Bayesian deconvolution and multivariate statistical analysis
• Provides extended discussion of anisotropic materials, retardation effects, delocalization of inelastic scattering, and the simulation of energy-loss fine structure.
• Describes recent applications of EELS to fields such as nanotechnology, electronic devices and carbon-based materials.
• Offers extended coverage of radiation damage and delocalization as limits to spatial resolution.

From reviews of the first and second edition:

"The text....contains a wealth of practical detail and experimental insight....This book is an essential purchase for any microscopist who is using, or planning to use, electron spectroscopy or spectroscopic imaging." – JMSA

"Provides the advanced student with an indispensible text and the experienced researcher with a valuable reference." -- American Scientist