Dr Scott Findlay
QEII Fellow
BSc (Hons), The University of Melbourne
PhD, The University of Melbourne (2005)
Phone +61 (3) 9902 4943
Fax +61 (3) 9905 3637
Room 122, building 26
Email:Scott.Findlay@monash.edu
Top: Schematic of the scattering dynamics of a high-energy, atomically-fine convergent electron probe.
Bottom: Experimental scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images of an Al2O3 grain boundary (simulations and model structure overlaid).
Research interests
My research interests centre around developing techniques for atomic resolution imaging of materials in transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. This requires a detailed analysis of the elastic and inelastic scattering behaviour of fast electrons moving through material specimens. Using theoretical modelling and numerical simulation, I work closely with experimental collaborators to tease out the maximum of scientific information from experimental microscopy images.
Topics of current, particular interest include:
- Establishing an "absolute scale" such that the comparison of experimentally recorded and theoretically calculated intensities can be used to count the number of atoms in a column of atoms.
- Developing the recent technique of annular bright field imaging for the direct imaging of light elements using scanning transmission electron microscopy.
- Using a combination of simultaneously acquired images for novel imaging possibilities.
- Adapting simulations to non-periodic specimens: grain boundaries, few atom impurities, defects.
Research projects available
A list of proposed Honours level projects for 2012 can be found in the School of Physics Guidelines and proposed research projects available here. This list is not exclusive; projects are flexible and may evolve. Please feel free to come and talk with me at any time if you are considering physics honours and are interested by any of these topics.
PhD level projects are also possible. Please contact me at any time to discuss the possibilities.
Selected publications
N. Shibata, S.D. Findlay, Y. Kohno, H. Sawada, Y. Kondo and Y. Ikuhara, Differential phase-contrast microscopy at atomic resolution, Nature Physics (2012) In press. [Written up as a News & Views article in Nature Physics.]
S.D. Findlay, N.R. Lugg, N. Shibata, L.J. Allen and Y. Ikuhara, Prospects for lithium imaging using annular bright field scanning transmission electron microscopy: a theoretical study, Ultramicroscopy 111 (2011) 1144–1154.
J.M. LeBeau, S.D. Findlay, L.J. Allen and S. Stemmer, Standardless atom counting in scanning transmission electron microscopy, Nano Letters 10 (2010) 4405-4408.
S.D. Findlay, T. Saito, N. Shibata, Y. Sato, J. Matsuda, K. Asano, E. Akiba, T. Hirayama and Y. Ikuhara, Direct imaging of hydrogen within a crystalline environment, Applied Physics Express 3 (2010) 116603. [Received a Japan Society for Applied Physics Outstanding Paper Award - 2011]
S.D. Findlay, N. Shibata, H. Sawada, E. Okunishi, Y. Kondo, T. Yamamoto and Y. Ikuhara, Robust atomic resolution imaging of light elements using scanning transmission electron microscopy, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95 (2009) 191913.
N. Shibata, S.D. Findlay, S. Azuma, T. Mizoguchi, T. Yamamoto, and Y. Ikuhara, Atomic-scale imaging of individual dopant atoms in a buried interface, Nature Materials 8 (2009) 654-658.
M. Bosman, V.J. Keast, J.L. Garca-Muoz, A.J. D'Alfonso, S.D. Findlay, and L.J. Allen, Two-dimensional mapping of chemical information at atomic resolution, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 (2007) 086102.