Experimental study on framing electron microscopy

Abstract

A transmission framing electron microscope which consists of a lanthanum hexaboride cathode, two focusing lenses, an object lens, an intermediate lens, a projective lens, a scan deflector, a two-aperture-plate, a two compensation deflectors, a fiber plate based phosphor screen, an image intensifier, and a CCD readout system, is constructed based on a DX-4 transmission electron microscope. Two framing micrographs each in the size of (phi) 10 mm, with magnification of 10,000 have been obtained. Under the current condition, the exposure time of 43 ns (FWHM is 21.5 ns) has been achieved. The spatial resolution is evaluated by edge spread function and is proved to be 14.4 nm limited by the CCD readout system. Apart from the technical problems, the physical limitation and the potential of the framing electron microscopy are discussed, indicting that the temporal resolution of 100 ps and the spatial resolution of 10 nm can be achievable. The experimental results and the analysis show the potential of the application of the framing electron microscopy in the related research area.