Revealing local order via high energy EELS

Short range order (SRO) is critical in determining the performance of many important engineering materials. However, accurate characterization of SRO with high spatial resolution -which is needed for the study of individual nanoparticles and at material defects and interfaces -is often experimentally inaccessible. Here, we locally quantify SRO via scanning transmission electron microscopy with extended energy loss fine structure analysis. Specifically, we use novel instrumentation to perform electron energy loss spectroscopy out to 12 key, accessing energies which are conventionally only possible using a synchrotron. Our data is of sufficient energy resolution and signal-to-noise ratio to perform quantitative extended fine structure analysis, which allows determination of local coordination environments. To showcase this technique, we investigate a multicomponent metallic glass nanolaminate and locally quantify the SRO with <10 nm spatial resolution; this measurement would have been impossible with conventional synchrotron or electron microscopy methods. We discuss the nature of SRO within the metallic glass phase, as well as the wider applicability of our approach for determining processing-SRO-property relationships in complex materials.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Short range order (SRO) is crucial for determining the performance of engineering materials, but accurate characterization with high spatial resolution is often experimentally inaccessible. In this study, SRO is locally quantified using scanning transmission electron microscopy with extended energy loss fine structure analysis. A novel instrumentation enables electron energy loss spectroscopy at energies conventionally achievable only with a synchrotron. This technique allows for quantitative analysis of local coordination environments and has been successfully applied to investigate a multicomponent metallic glass nanolaminate.