Breaking the Crowther limit: Combining depth-sectioning and tilt tomography for high-resolution, wide-field 3D reconstructions. Hovden, R., Ercius, P., Jiang, Y., Wang, D., Yu, Y., Abruña, H. D., Elser, V., & Muller, D. A. Ultramicroscopy, 140:26–31, 2014. 00000
Breaking the Crowther limit: Combining depth-sectioning and tilt tomography for high-resolution, wide-field 3D reconstructions [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
To date, high-resolution (\textless1 nm) imaging of extended objects in three-dimensions (3D) has not been possible. A restriction known as the Crowther criterion forces a tradeoff between object size and resolution for 3D reconstructions by tomography. Further, the sub-Angstrom resolution of aberration-corrected electron microscopes is accompanied by a greatly diminished depth of field, causing regions of larger specimens (\textgreater6 nm) to appear blurred or missing. Here we demonstrate a three-dimensional imaging method that overcomes both these limits by combining through-focal depth sectioning and traditional tilt-series tomography to reconstruct extended objects, with high-resolution, in all three dimensions. The large convergence angle in aberration corrected instruments now becomes a benefit and not a hindrance to higher quality reconstructions. A through-focal reconstruction over a 390 nm 3D carbon support containing over 100 dealloyed and nanoporous PtCu catalyst particles revealed with sub-nanometer detail the extensive and connected interior pore structure that is created by the dealloying instability.
@article{hovden_breaking_2014,
	title = {Breaking the {Crowther} limit: {Combining} depth-sectioning and tilt tomography for high-resolution, wide-field {3D} reconstructions},
	volume = {140},
	issn = {0304-3991},
	shorttitle = {Breaking the {Crowther} limit},
	url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304399114000230},
	doi = {10.1016/j.ultramic.2014.01.013},
	abstract = {To date, high-resolution ({\textless}1 nm) imaging of extended objects in three-dimensions (3D) has not been possible. A restriction known as the Crowther criterion forces a tradeoff between object size and resolution for 3D reconstructions by tomography. Further, the sub-Angstrom resolution of aberration-corrected electron microscopes is accompanied by a greatly diminished depth of field, causing regions of larger specimens ({\textgreater}6 nm) to appear blurred or missing. Here we demonstrate a three-dimensional imaging method that overcomes both these limits by combining through-focal depth sectioning and traditional tilt-series tomography to reconstruct extended objects, with high-resolution, in all three dimensions. The large convergence angle in aberration corrected instruments now becomes a benefit and not a hindrance to higher quality reconstructions. A through-focal reconstruction over a 390 nm 3D carbon support containing over 100 dealloyed and nanoporous PtCu catalyst particles revealed with sub-nanometer detail the extensive and connected interior pore structure that is created by the dealloying instability.},
	urldate = {2014-04-08},
	journal = {Ultramicroscopy},
	author = {Hovden, Robert and Ercius, Peter and Jiang, Yi and Wang, Deli and Yu, Yingchao and Abruña, Héctor D. and Elser, Veit and Muller, David A.},
	year = {2014},
	note = {00000},
	keywords = {3D imaging, Aberration correction, Catalysts, Crowther criterion, Depth of field, Depth sectioning, Electron microscopy, Nanoparticles, STEM, Scanning transmission electron microscopy, Through focal imaging, Tomography, tem},
	pages = {26--31},
}

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