Effect of a physical phase plate on contrast transfer in an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope.

In this theoretical study we analyze contrast transfer of weak-phase objects in a transmission electron microscope, which is equipped with an aberration corrector (C(s)-corrector) in the imaging lens system and a physical phase plate in the back focal plane of the objective lens. For a phase shift of pi/2 between scattered and unscattered electrons induced by a physical phase plate, the sine-type phase contrast transfer function is converted into a cosine-type function. Optimal imaging conditions could theoretically be achieved if the phase shifts caused by the objective lens defocus and lens aberrations would be equal to zero. In reality this situation is difficult to realize because of residual aberrations and varying, non-zero local defocus values, which in general result from an uneven sample surface topography. We explore the conditions--i.e. range of C(s)-values and defocus--for most favourable contrast transfer as a function of the information limit, which is only limited by the effect of partial coherence of the electron wave in C(s)-corrected transmission electron microscopes. Under high-resolution operation conditions we find that a physical phase plate improves strongly low- and medium-resolution object contrast, while improving tolerance to defocus and C(s)-variations, compared to a microscope without a phase plate.

Pulp chamber temperature changes with visible-light-cured composites in vitro.

Due to the low compliance nature of the dental pulp, it is vulnerable to cavity preparation and restoration procedures. The vulnerability may be due to temperature increases within the pulp tissue generated by those procedures. Placement of composites includes the use of visible-light-cure lamps which emit heat and cause a temperature increase in the pulp. This study measured the temperature increase occurring in the pulp chamber with the placement of a two-surface posterior composite using six visible-light-cure lamps. The data indicate that the lamps vary in the amount of temperature increase generated from one to another; that the greater portion of the temperature increase occurred during the placement of the first layer of composite; and that one lamp caused significantly lower temperature increases.

A nanocrystalline Hilbert phase-plate for phase-contrast transmission electron microscopy.

Thin-film-based phase-plates are applied to enhance the contrast of weak-phase objects in transmission electron microscopy. In this work, metal-film-based phase-plates are considered to reduce contamination and electrostatic charging, which up to now limit the application of phase-plates fabricated from amorphous C-films. Their crystalline structure requires a model for the simulation of the effect of crystallinity on the phase-plate properties and the image formation process. The model established in this work is verified by experimental results obtained by the application of a textured nanocrystalline Au-film-based Hilbert phase-plate. Based on the model, it is shown that monocrystalline and textured nanocrystalline phase-plate microstructures of appropriate thickness and crystalline orientation can be a promising approach for phase-contrast transmission electron microscopy.

Object-wave reconstruction by carbon film-based Zernike- and Hilbert-phase plate microscopy: a theoretical study not restricted to weak-phase objects.

Transmission electron microscopy phase-contrast images taken by amorphous carbon film-based phase plates are affected by the scattering of electrons within the carbon film causing a modification of the image-wave function. Moreover, image artefacts are produced by non-centrosymmetric phase plate designs such as the Hilbert-phase plate. Various methods are presented to correct phase-contrast images with respect to the scattering of electrons and image artefacts induced by phase plates. The proposed techniques are not restricted to weak-phase objects and linear image formation. Phase-contrast images corrected by the presented methods correspond to those taken by an ideal centrosymmetric, matter-free phase plate and are suitable for object-wave reconstruction.

Object wave reconstruction by phase-plate transmission electron microscopy.

A method is described for the reconstruction of the amplitude and phase of the object exit wave function by phase-plate transmission electron microscopy. The proposed method can be considered as in-line holography and requires three images, taken with different phase shifts between undiffracted and diffracted electrons induced by a suitable phase-shifting device. The proposed method is applicable for arbitrary object exit wave functions and non-linear image formation. Verification of the method is performed for examples of a simulated crystalline object wave function and a wave function acquired with off-axis holography. The impact of noise on the reconstruction of the wave function is investigated.