Better, Stronger, Faster
Scientists at Cornell University in New York have developed a high capability electron microscope. In an article published in the journal of Microscopy and Microanalysis, the researchers decribed the new imaging detector they demonstrated as recording an image frame in 1/1000 of a second and with a range of 1 to 1,000,000 electrons per pixel. That is an increase in intensity of 1000 times a conventional electron microscope and at 100 times the speed to boot.
By modifying solid state x-ray detector technology, developed over the last decade and a half, this device can function as a high-speed, high dynamic range diffraction camera. With such high definition and speed, researchers can capture the entire unsaturated diffraction pattern in scanning modes, simultaneously capturing bright field, dark field, phase contrast as well as analysis of full scattering distribution. This analysis opens new paths to multichannel imaging modes. By capturing all of the transmitted electrons, it’s possible to get a quantitative measurement of material properties like local strains, tilts, rotations, polarity, and electronic and magnetic fields.
You can read more about the advancement here.
