NIST researchers have developed a new technique for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that twists electron beams into corkscrew shapes using nanoscale gratings. This method, which imparts orbital angular momentum to the electron beams, could revolutionize TEM capabilities by allowing adaptive imaging of a wider range of materials with atomic-scale resolution.
The new technique, which produces multiple electron beams with orbital momentum, could provide more information about magnetic materials by exchanging angular momentum and improve TEM images of biological specimens through distorted spiral wavefronts. The method involves passing electrons through a 5-micron-diameter pattern of nanoscale slits, creating donut-like or spiral patterns in the imaging.
This innovative approach to producing corkscrew electrons with nanogratings in a TEM represents a significant step toward expanding the capabilities of existing microscopes and could have far-reaching implications for scientific and medical research.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2011/01/nist-puts-new-twist-electron-beam
Keywords: Electron microscopes, Nanoscale grating, Orbital momentum
