Atomic Adventures: Exploring 3D Interfaces with STEM

Understanding interface defects or inhomogeneous phases present is key to materials development from improving quantum coherence in superconducting qubits to unlocking the potential of ultrawide bandgap semiconductors for power electronics. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) can help uncover defects on the atomic scale. In particular, recent development of multislice electron ptychography (MEP) enables reconstructions of the 3D electrostatic scattering potential in samples, and achieves double the resolution of commercial STEM techniques, light-atom imaging, and depth sectioning.