Entry Date:
September 1, 2020

Automating Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

Principal Investigator James LeBeau

Project Start Date September 2020


The development of the electron microscopy field has reached the point where microscopists can readily acquire atomic level information on materials, but the required human input for each image limits the quantity and reproducibility of the data being acquired. Automated control of the electron microscope enables statistically significant data sets to be collected in a systematic way. Using Python code, the LeBeau group develops and utilizes software to control every aspect of the electron microscope. These scripts are universal and can be applied to any microscope. Further advancements in automated image acquisition will incorporate machine learning to search for specific features of interest in a sample. The enhanced capabilities will open new opportunities to study infrequent features such as defects and dopants in a statistically meaningful way.