Development of an ultrafast electron source based on a cold-field emission gun for ultrafast coherent TEM

Abstract

We report on the design of a femtosecond laser-driven electron source for ultrafast coherent transmission electron microscopy. The proposed architecture allows introducing an ultrafast laser beam inside the cold field emission source of a commercial TEM, aligning and focusing the laser spot on the apex of the nanoemitter. The modifications of the gun assembly do not deteriorate the performances of the electron source in conventional DC mode and allow easy switching between the conventional and ultrafast laser-driven emission modes. We describe here this ultrafast electron source and discuss its properties.