Direct Visualization of Si and Ge Atoms by Shifting Electron Picoscopy

Abstract

The picoscopy images of the Si/Ge(100) system were analyzed, and electron cloud densitometry of silicon is presented in this study. The picoscopy is used to distinguish Ge, Si, and other chemical elements because different atoms have different densities of electron clouds. This result is in full accordance with Kucherov's law which states that the current passed through an electron cloud is proportional to the density of the cloud. The picoscopy image has shown Si crystals, Si/Ge solid solution, and their interface as the single crystal without defects. Local deformations in crystals were investigated using methods of direct visualization of individual atoms and measuring the distance of the center of atoms from the node of the crystal lattice. Visual сrystallography becomes a new way to study applied functional materials. This is the first publication on the real structure of a silicon atom.