Atom-by-atom materials characterization with electron ptychography

ABSTRACT

Electron microscopy and atomic-scale materials characterization are undergoing a revolution fueled by the new capabilities of electron ptychography, which is setting records for spatial resolution down to 20 picometers. In this talk, I will discuss how my group is developing atomically precise methods to characterize materials using electron ptychography, and the new science we are accessing using these new capabilities. These projects span from using ptychography to visualize thermal vibrations atom-by-atom to recovering 3D atomic coordinates of 2D moiré materials from a single projection. In addition, we are making cutting-edge techniques of advanced electron microscopy more accessible by using ptychography to achieve 0.44 angstrom spatial resolution in a conventional scanning transmission electron microscope, nearly quadrupling its intrinsic optical resolution. This work also indicates new frontiers to advance electron ptychography, including surprising approaches that use aberrations to create structured probes for lower-dose imaging. Finally, we demonstrate that expensive aberration correctors are no longer required to achieve atom-by-atom imaging, a significant step towards democratizing access to high-end electron microscopy.

BIO

Pinshane Y. Huang is a Professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Associate Director of the Materials Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Pinshane holds a Ph.D. in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and B.A in Physics from Carleton College. Her research is focused on transmission electron microscopy and ptychography of two-dimensional and nanoelectronic materials. She has been recognized for both her research (PECASE, Packard Fellowship, Sloan Fellowship, Air Force Young Investigator Award, NSF CAREER award, 3M Young Faculty Award, Albert Crewe Award from the Microscopy Society of America) and teaching (Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Rose Award for Teaching Excellence, Illinois Student Government Teaching Excellence Award).