An improved magnetic prism design for a transmission electron microscope energy filter

Abstract

Energy selecting electron microscopes of the Castaing-Henry prism-mirror-prism design suffer from a loss of image and energy resolution with increasing field of view. These effects can be qualitatively understood by examining the focusing properties of the prism shown in Fig. 1. A cone of electrons emerges from the entrance lens crossover A and impinges on the planar face of the prism. The task of the prism is to focus these electrons to a point B at a focal distance f2 from the side of the prism. Electrons traveling in the plane of the diagram (i.e., the symmetry plane of the prism) are focused toward point B due to the different path lengths of different electron trajectories in the triangularly shaped magnetic field. This is referred to as horizontal focusing; the better this focusing effect the better the energy resolution of the spectrometer. Electrons in a plane perpendicular to the diagram and containing the central ray of the incident cone are focused toward B by the curved fringe field of the prism.