2005/05/09 by Vladimir A. Lobastov, Ramesh Srinivasan, Ahmed H. Zewail · 3 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Materials Science · Engineering · #Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques #Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis
paper · doi:10.1073/pnas.0502607102
openalex publication_date 2005/05/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Electron microscopy is arguably the most powerful tool for spatial imaging of structures. As such, 2D and 3D microscopies provide static structures with subnanometer and increasingly with angstrom-scale spatial resolution. Here we report the development of 4D ultrafast electron microscopy, whose capability imparts another dimension to imaging in general and to dynamics in particular. We demonstrate its versatility by recording images and diffraction patterns of crystalline and amorphous materials and images of biological cells. The electron packets, which were generated with femtosecond laser pulses, have a de Broglie wavelength of 0.0335 angstroms at 120 keV and have as low as one electron per pulse. With such few particles, doses of few electrons per square ångstrom, and ultrafast temporal duration, the long sought after but hitherto unrealized quest for ultrafast electron microscopy has been realized. Ultrafast electron microscopy should have an impact on all areas of microscopy, including biological imaging.