title: Efficient linear phase contrast in scanning transmission electron microscopy with matched illumination and detector interferometry.
abstract: The ability to image light elements in soft matter at atomic resolution enables unprecedented insight into the structure and properties of molecular heterostructures and beam-sensitive nanomaterials. In this study, we introduce a scanning transmission electron microscopy technique combining a pre-specimen phase plate designed to produce a probe with structured phase with a high-speed direct electron detector to generate nearly linear contrast images with high efficiency. We demonstrate this method by using both experiment and simulation to simultaneously image the atomic-scale structure of weakly scattering amorphous carbon and strongly scattering gold nanoparticles. Our method demonstrates strong contrast for both materials, making it a promising candidate for structural determination of heterogeneous soft/hard matter samples even at low electron doses comparable to traditional phase-contrast transmission electron microscopy. Simulated images demonstrate the extension of this technique to the challenging problem of structural determination of biological material at the surface of inorganic crystals.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Electron Microscopy, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ophus
authors.affiliation: National Center for Electron Microscopy, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ciston
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oregon, 1585 E 13th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oregon, 1585 E 13th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Tyler R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oregon, 1585 E 13th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chess
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oregon, 1585 E 13th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McMorran
authors.affiliation: Gatan Inc., 5794 W Las Positas Boulevard, Pleasanton, California 94588, USA.
authors.forename: Cory
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Czarnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Center for Electron Microscopy, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Harald H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: National Center for Electron Microscopy, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ercius