Insights into the electronic structure of ceramics through quantitative analysis of valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy

Valence electron energy-loss (VEEL) spectroscopy was performed on six ceram ic materials in a dedicated scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM ). Quantitative analysis of these data is described yielding access to the complex optical properties and the electronic structure of the materials. C omparisons are made on the basis of the interband transition strength descr ibing transitions between occupied states in the valence band and empty sta tes in the conduction band. This proves that the quantitative analysis of V EEL data is a competitive and complementary method to be considered when in vestigating the electronic structure of materials. Possibilities for improv ement and extension of the analysis are discussed extensively.