Introduction to Materials - Sample Preparation Topic for Transmission Electron Microscopy - page 16

Thin Layer
Size: few mm several cm
- Surface defects
- Stuctural and chemical homogeneity of the film

Self-Supporting
Thin Layer

Thin Layer
on Substrate

Thin Layers and Multilayers
Size: few mm several cm
- Surface defects (layer roughness)
- Stuctural homogeneity of layers
- Substrate/film or layer orientation relationship
- Structure of interfaces and defects
- Distribution and chemistry of defects
- Chemical bonding

Substrate

Multilayer
on Substrate

Substrate

Crystalline Thin films

Size: few µm few mm
Defects tied to crystal growth of the film:
- Structural homogeneity of the film
- Chemical homogeneity of the film
- Orientation of the grain boundary and the grain
boundary plane
- Structure of the grain boundary
- Grain boundary defects
- Grain boundary chemical bonding

Crystalline Thin
Film on Bicrystal
Substrate

Fig. 2.3 Different types of organization of thin layer 2D materials at the microscopic scale

Fine Particles

Dimensions from µm few nm
- Amorphous materials
- Poorly-organized materials
- Microcrystallized materials
- Polycrystalline materials
- Monocrystalline materials

Fig. 2.4 Different types of organization of fine particles or single particles at the microscopic scale

and which are more or less evolved (kerogenes and mesophases), and certain alloys.
In this type of microstructure, the interest lies in the start of crystal growth and its
location and distribution in the volume of the material, in order to get back to the
formation mechanism. Crystalline order may show texturation, such as that present
in petroleum source rocks, which is characteristic of certain chemical compositions
of C, H, and O in the rocks. These materials can be bulk or fine particles.