Abstract
Advances in source monochromation in transmission electron microscopy have opened up new possibilities for investigations of condensed matter using the phonon-loss sector of the energy-loss spectrum. Here, we explore the spatial variations of the spectrum as an atomic-sized probe is scanned across a thin flake of hexagonal boron nitride. We demonstrate that phonon spectral mapping of atomic structure is possible. These results are consistent with a model for the quantum excitation of phonons and confirm that -contrast imaging is based on inelastic scattering associated with phonon excitation.
- Received 26 September 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.016103
© 2019 American Physical Society