ADT: method foundation

Citation

Ute Kolb*, Tatiana E. Gorelik, Christian Kübel, Markus T. Otten, Damien Hubert (2007):
Towards automated diffraction tomography: Part I — Data acquisition.
Ultramicroscopy 107, 507–513 (2007)

In one sentence

The paper that introduced Automated Diffraction Tomography (ADT) — the first software-controlled procedure for collecting tilted electron diffraction patterns from a single nanocrystal in a transmission electron microscope, and the methodological foundation of today's field of three-dimensional electron diffraction.

What was done

Until 2007, electron diffraction tilt experiments in the TEM were carried out manually: the operator tilted the goniometer step by step, recentred the crystal between tilts, readjusted focus, and recorded diffraction patterns one at a time. The procedure was tedious, prone to operator error, and severely limited the angular range that could realistically be sampled. In this paper, we introduced an integrated, software-controlled procedure in which crystal tracking, focus adjustment, and diffraction pattern acquisition are coordinated automatically across the full goniometer tilt range.

The work also established the experimental workflow that has since become standard in the field: STEM-mode imaging for crystal tracking between tilts, switched diffraction-mode acquisition at each tilt step, and post-acquisition reconstruction of the three-dimensional reciprocal space.

Schematic of the ADT acquisition workflow — sequential tilting, crystal tracking, and diffraction pattern acquisition

Why it matters

This is the paper from which the entire modern field of three-dimensional electron diffraction descends. Almost every later automated electron crystallography setup — including FAST-ADT, PyFast-ADT, and the various 3DED implementations developed by other groups — adopts the basic principles introduced here. ADT also demonstrated, for the first time, that nanocrystals previously considered too small for crystallographic analysis could be brought within reach of full structure determination through electron diffraction.

Resources

Related on this site