Measuring three-dimensional positions of atoms to the highest accuracy with electrons

Abstract

Abstract Recent developments in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have pushed lateral spatial resolution to well below 1 A. For selected perfect crystal structures, this allows atomic columns to be identified along several crystallographic orientations. Measuring the three-dimensional position of every atom within a TEM specimen, called by some the holy grail of electron microscopy, seems therefore within reach. In this paper, we will discuss recent approaches to this problem and present our own dose-efficient approach that is based on the direct inversion of multiple electron scattering within the sample and that can be applied to various coherent detection schemes, such as high-resolution TEM, confocal scanning TEM, or ptychography. One particular advantage of this approach is that data for only a very limited range of specimen tilt angles is required, and that it can handle the highly dynamical scattering associated with lower electron beam energy.