Alişar-IV ware is one of the most characteristic ceramic productions of early first-millennium BC central Anatolia and the only one characterised by painted figurative motifs besides geometric decorations. The ongoing excavations at Niğde-Kınık Höyük have uncovered a collection of fragments belonging to 42 Alişar-IV vessels, and this systematic material study of these sherds contributes much to understanding aspects of their production, use and consumption. Petrographic and chemical evidence presented in this study indicates that two-thirds of them were produced locally. Conversely, the study of Alişar-IV fragments from other regions of the Anatolian plateau has shown that they are non-local productions. We thus suggest that Alişar-IV ware is a product of a few centres within south-central Anatolia and that, from there, it circulated among and beyond these centres. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the main period of production of this ware covers the tenth and ninth centuries BC, in agreement with the evidence from Polatlı Yassı Höyük, Kaman-Kalehöyük and Böğazköy-Büyükkaya. The small number of Alişar-IV vessels found at each site is indicative of a limited, exclusive production. A combined study of their shapes and iconography might support the hypothesis that the Alişar-IV ware was primarily associated with wine circulation and consumption.

We present a deterministic approach to the ptychographic retrieval of the wave at the exit surface of a specimen of condensed matter illuminated by X-rays. The method is based on the solution of an overdetermined set of linear equations, and is robust to measurement noise. The set of linear equations is efficiently solved using the conjugate gradient least-squares method implemented using fast Fourier transforms. The method is demonstrated using a data set obtained from a gold–chromium nanostructured test object. It is shown that the transmission function retrieved by this linear method is quantitatively comparable with established methods of ptychography, with a large decrease in computational time, and is thus a good candidate for real-time reconstruction.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, August 4 – August 8, 2013.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 – August 2, 2012.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 – August 2, 2012.

We review the recently introduced technique of atomic-resolution chemical mapping in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) based on energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Working at the atomic level is facilitated by ultrasensitive energy-dispersive x-ray detectors in combination with Cs-correction of the STEM probe. Details of the experimental implementation are discussed, and a theoretical framework within which the measured results can be understood is described. Three case studies are presented: the analysis of specimens of GaAs and SrTiO3, as well as examination of an interface between SrTiO3 and PbTiO3. Detailed theoretical simulations of the imaging process show that the projected positions of elements in atomic columns can be directly deduced from the chemical maps. For the core shells used, the effective ionization interaction is local and generally localized in the vicinity of the atoms being ionized. The local nature of the effective ionization potential means that this is an incoherent mode of imaging, akin to Z-contrast imaging but with additional chemical information.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, August 7–August 11, 2011.