The Theory and Interpretation of Electron Energy Loss Near-Edge Fine Structure Peter Rez 1 and David A. Muller 2 1 Department of Physics and School of Materials, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287; email: Peter.Rez@asu.edu 2 School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 2008. 38:535–58 First published online as a Review in Advance on April 9, 2008 The Annual Review of Materials Research is online at matsci.annualreviews.org This article’s doi: 10.1146/annurev.matsci.37.052506.084209 Copyright c  2008 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved 1531-7331/08/0804-0535$20.00 Key Words inner shell, electron microscope, X-ray absorption Abstract Electron energy loss fine structure near the threshold of inner-shell edges can potentially give valuable information on bonding on an atomic scale. To use near-edge structure it is essential to understand what factors influence both the occupied and unoccupied local density of states in the material of interest. Different techniques of electronic structure theory are suitable for metals, semiconductors, and ionic materials, although some methods can be applied to a wide range of systems. To extract quantitative information on bonding it is important to avoid those edges that are strongly affected by the presence of the core hole such as cations in ionic materials. 535 Click here for quick links to Annual Reviews content online, including: • Other articles in this volume • Top cited articles • Top downloaded articles • Our comprehensive search Further ANNUAL REVIEWS Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 2008.38:535-558. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org by University of California - San Diego on 05/20/11. For personal use only.