A new device concept: Ballistic electron wave swing (BEWAS) to generate THz-signal power, theory and experimental verification

Under the “weak phase object” approximation, the component of the electron wave scattered by an object is phase shifted by π/2 with respect to the unscattered component. This phase shift has been confirmed for thin carbon films by many experiments dealing with image contrast and the contrast transfer theory. There is also an additional phase shift which is a function of the atomic number of the scattering atom. This shift is negligible for light atoms such as carbon, but becomes significant for heavy atoms as used for stains for biological specimens. The light elements are imaged as phase objects, while those atoms scattering with a larger phase shift may be imaged as amplitude objects. There is a great deal of interest in determining the complete object wave, i.e., both the phase and amplitude components of the electron wave leaving the object.

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Ultimate resolution and information in electron microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100086787 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 496-497

Author(s):

D. Van Dyck

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Electron Microscope ◽

Transfer Function ◽

Information Transfer ◽

Communication Channel ◽

Structural Information ◽

Information Rate ◽

Noise Power ◽

Signal Power ◽

Imaging Device

An (electron) microscope can be considered as a communication channel that transfers structural information between an object and an observer. In electron microscopy this information is carried by electrons. According to the theory of Shannon the maximal information rate (or capacity) of a communication channel is given by C = B log2 (1 + S/N) bits/sec., where B is the band width, and S and N the average signal power, respectively noise power at the output. We will now apply to study the information transfer in an electron microscope. For simplicity we will assume the object and the image to be onedimensional (the results can straightforwardly be generalized). An imaging device can be characterized by its transfer function, which describes the magnitude with which a spatial frequency g is transferred through the device, n is the noise. Usually, the resolution of the instrument ᑭ is defined from the cut-off 1/ᑭ beyond which no spadal information is transferred.

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The Interpretation of Crystal Lattice Images

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010009600x ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 550-551

Author(s):

J. M. Cowley ◽

Sumio Iijima

Keyword(s):

Crystal Orientation ◽

Diffraction Theory ◽

Phase Changes ◽

Electron Wave ◽

Crystal Lattices ◽

Heavy Atoms ◽

Lattice Images ◽

The Right ◽

Intuitive Interpretation ◽

Suitable Approximation

The imaging of detailed structures of crystal lattices with 3 to 4Å resolution, given the correct conditions of microscope defocus and crystal orientation and thickness, has been used by Iijima (this conference) for the study of new types of crystal structures and the defects in known structures associated with fluctuations of stoichiometry. The image intensities may be computed using n-beam dynamical diffraction theory involving several hundred beams (Fejes, this conference). However it is still important to have a suitable approximation to provide an immediate rough estimate of contrast and an evaluation of the intuitive interpretation in terms of an amplitude object.For crystals 100 to 150Å thick containing moderately heavy atoms the phase changes of the electron wave vary by about 10 radians suggesting that the “optimum defocus” theory of amplitude contrast for thin phase objects due to Scherzer and others can not apply, although it does predict the right defocus for optimum imaging.

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