Electron Microscopy Studies on Phase Transformations in Crystalline Solids
Abstract: This paper reports the recent topics related to the phase transformations in functional materials, which were studied by using techniques of in situ transmission electron microscopy. We herein focused on the relationship between lattice imperfection and magnetization in a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy, and the microscopic mechanism of the peculiar domain switching phenomenon which was recently discovered in a layered manganite. The in situ experiments were carried by using special equipments that applied magnetic/electric fields to the specimens inside the microscope. The complex microstructures produced by the phase transformations were analyzed by complementarily using electron holography, Lorentz microscopy, dark-field image observations, and such other techniques.
Key words: electron holography, Lorentz microscopy, in situ observation, domain structure, phase transition