Correcting sample drift using Fourier harmonics

G Bárcena-González; M P Guerrero-Lebrero; E Guerrero; D F Reyes; V Braza; A Yañez; B Nuñez-Moraleda; D González; P L Galindo

doi:10.1016/j.micron.2018.04.004

Correcting sample drift using Fourier harmonics

Micron. 2018 Jul:110:18-27. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2018.04.004. Epub 2018 Apr 21.

Authors

G Bárcena-González¹, M P Guerrero-Lebrero², E Guerrero², D F Reyes³, V Braza³, A Yañez², B Nuñez-Moraleda², D González³, P L Galindo²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Cádiz, Spain. Electronic address: guillermo.barcena@uca.es.
² Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Cádiz, Spain.
³ Department of Material Science and Metallurgy Engineering and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Cádiz, Spain.

PMID: 29705338
DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2018.04.004

Abstract

During image acquisition of crystalline materials by high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, the sample drift could lead to distortions and shears that hinder their quantitative analysis and characterization. In order to measure and correct this effect, several authors have proposed different methodologies making use of series of images. In this work, we introduce a methodology to determine the drift angle via Fourier analysis by using a single image based on the measurements between the angles of the second Fourier harmonics in different quadrants. Two different approaches, that are independent of the angle of acquisition of the image, are evaluated. In addition, our results demonstrate that the determination of the drift angle is more accurate by using the measurements of non-consecutive quadrants when the angle of acquisition is an odd multiple of 45°.

Keywords: Drift correction; Fourier analysis; Harmonic analysis; Image distortion.