Abstract
The development of aberration correctors and their routine applications in transmission and scanning
transmission electron microscopy mode have enabled sub-Ångström imaging of practical nanoscale
materials and nanocatalysts. To correctly interpret the observed image contrast of practical samples
is, however, still challenging. For example, the contrast of the various features in a high-angle
annular dark-field (HA-ADF) image can be affected by many parameters such as sample tilt [1],
presence of amorphous materials [2], overlapping crystallites, electron-beam channeling, etc. The
visibility and image contrast of individual monomers, dimers or small clusters supported on
relatively thick crystalline substrates may be modulated by tilting the substrate crystal away from
electron-beam channeling conditions or the major zone axes.
