Tuning fifth-order aberrations in a Quadrupole-Octupole Corrector

Abstract

The resolution of conventional electron microscopes is usually limited by spherical aberration. Microscopes equipped with aberration-correctors are then primarily limited by higher-order, chromatic, and misalignment aberrations. In particular the Nion third-order aberration correctors installed on machines with a low energy spread and possessing sophisticated alignment software were limited by the uncorrected fifth-order aberrations. Here we show how the Nion fifth-order aberration corrector can be used to adjust and reduce some of the fourth and fifth-order aberrations in a probe-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope.