Studies of EELS L_2,3 absorption fine structure in thin silicon

Electron energy loss fine structure within 5eV of the Si L2,3 absorption edge is obtained with 0.2eV resolution from nm-sized regions using the scanning transmission electron microscope. The edge structure is examined and compared with available theory, with the aim of relating the observations to local electronic structure. At the 0.2eV level, there are observable differences between the EELS and x-ray absorption results even in the dipole limit.