High-resolution electron microscopy imaging of the carbon vacancy superlattice in the ordered carbide VC1−x

Abstract
High-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) has been applied to the study of the order-disorder phenomena in vanadium carbide VC1−x near the composition V6C5. HREM images have been obtained by collecting in the objective aperture superstructure spots associated with the ordered distributon of vacancies in the carbon sublattice. Direct interpretation of experimental micrographs can be done for particular imaging conditions which are determined in this work from multislice image computations. Applications of the direct lattice imaging technique to the study of order defects is illustrated by two examples: first, micrographs taken from as-grown VC∼0.84 crystals confirm the existence of the monoclinic cell proposed by Billingham et al.; secondly, HREM images allow Hiraga's model to be refined for long-period structures which can develop in crystals, showing departure from the exact V6C5 composition.