ナノ領域の3次元原子配列が直接見える原子ホログラフィー顕微鏡の実現

2026-07-27 分子科学研究所

自然科学研究機構分子科学研究所の大門寛特別協力研究員らは、ナノ領域の3次元原子配列を直接観察できる「原子ホログラフィー顕微鏡」を開発した。従来、局所的な3次元原子構造の解析には放射光施設や透過電子顕微鏡が必要で、観測対象や利用環境に制約があった。本研究では、走査型電子顕微鏡（SEM）に新開発の二次元表示型分析器「CoDELMA」を組み合わせ、試料から放出される菊池電子の角度分布（ホログラム）を取得し、ホログラフィー変換によって着目元素周囲の3次元原子配列を再構築する手法を実現した。Bi₂Se₃結晶を用いた実証では、約0.1Åの高精度で立体的な原子配列を再現した。放射光を必要とせず、一般的なSEMでナノ領域の3次元原子構造を解析できるため、半導体デバイス、ナノ材料、機能性材料の開発や品質評価など、研究室から産業現場まで幅広い応用が期待される。

図１原子ホログラフィー顕微鏡の概念図

＜関連情報＞

原子ホログラフィー顕微鏡の実現
Realizing an atom-holography microscope

Hiroshi Daimon;Hiroki Momono;Hiroyuki Matsuda;Fumihiko Matsui;Akiko Kubota;Kaho Hirano;Shinako Iki;Yu Masuda;Koichi Moriguchi;Keiko Ogai;Yusuke Hashimoto;Tomohiro Matsushita
Review of Scientific Instruments Published:July 24 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0331644

The precise determination of three-dimensional (3D) atomic coordinates is the cornerstone of materials analysis, but conventional transmission electron microscopy is limited to visualizing only two-dimensional projections. The direct observation of the true 3D atomic arrangement has, therefore, remained an elusive goal in materials science. Atomic-resolution holography is a powerful technique capable of analyzing the 3D atomic arrangement, even around isolated atoms. However, it typically requires allocated time at large-scale synchrotron radiation facilities, which has hindered its widespread adoption and integration into routine materials characterization workflows. Here, we show the realization of an atom-holography microscope that breaks this fundamental constraint, enabling atomic-resolution holography to be performed anytime and anywhere. Our novel microscope integrates a hologram-display electron spectrometer and a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), allowing for the visualization of the 3D atomic arrangement within a microscopic region in a SEM image. As a proof of concept, we analyzed a Kikuchi electron hologram obtained from a Bi₂Se₃ sample and successfully reconstructed the atomic arrangement with an accuracy of 0.1 Å. This result demonstrates that advanced analytical microscope capable of mapping the composition and 3D atomic arrangement of each pixel in a SEM image is now available anytime, anywhere, which is expected to significantly accelerate the development of highly functional materials and microdevices.