Advantages of aberration correction for HRTEM investigation of complex layer compounds

Aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) has been applied to resolve the atomic structure of a complex layered crystal, (PbS)(1.14)NbS(2), which comprises a high density of incommensurate interfaces. The strong suppression of image delocalization and the favourable contrast transfer under negative C(s) imaging (NCSI) conditions have been exploited for obtaining HRTEM images which directly reveal the projected crystal structure and allow to study lattice imperfections, like stacking disorder and layer undulations, with atomic scale resolution. The advantages of aberration-corrected HRTEM over conventional HRTEM are demonstrated by direct comparison of experimental images and computer simulations.