Microscopy Hacks: development of various techniques to assist quantitative nanoanalysis and advanced electron microscopy

For development of advanced materials, characterization using a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) including analysis via X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry and electron energy-loss spectrometry is essential. Recent advances in aberration-corrected instruments have offered large-scale data acquisition at a high resolution for limited acquisition times both in imaging and in analysis. Further advanced procedures are required to analyze such large-scale datasets more efficiently including quantification. In addition, more simplified tuning procedures are crucial to the best possible resolution in the latest aberration-corrected instruments. In this review article, several approaches to perform advanced electron microscopy, which the author has been developing with his colleague, are described as 'Microscopy Hacks'. These are (i) quantification and elemental/chemical-imaging procedures, (ii) advanced statistical approaches to handle large-scale datasets and (iii) instrument characterization and tuning procedures including the latest development of an ad hoc autotuning procedure for aberration-corrected STEM imaging.