Single Electron Interferometry: A Step Toward Quantum Electron Microscopy
Single Electron Interferometry: A Step Toward Quantum Electron Microscopy
复制标题
单电子干涉测量：迈向量子电子显微镜的一步
DOI：
--
复制
发表时间：
2019
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
B. McMorran
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Amy E. Turner;F. Yasin;Cameron W. Johnson;B. McMorran
亚埃分辨率的生物标本重建可以让我们治愈疾病，制造个性化的药物，并了解原子水平上发生的生物机制。最近发展的透射电子显微镜（TEM）技术通过原子分辨率成像增强了我们对生物分子材料的理解。不幸的是，这些成像方法是耗时的，需要对可能不相同的生物分子的图像进行平均，并且最重要的是，破坏样品。非破坏性成像需要显着减少撞击样品的电子数量：接近1 e-/cm 2的剂量极限[1]。使用目前的方法，如果我们降低剂量，使我们不破坏样品，我们将没有足够的信噪比来重建任何标本的最微弱的图像。因此，我们需要开发一种方法来增加我们从每个单独的电子探测样品中获得的信息。在量子光学中，存在一种单光子干涉技术，即使光子没有穿过样品，也可以获得有关样品的信息[2]。通过使用无相互作用的光子，剂量降低而不牺牲信息。理论上，这种量子光学技术应该可以用电子实现[3]。基于这一理论，单电子干涉法为束敏感材料的成像提供了一种低剂量、高分辨率的TEM技术。
Sub-angstrom resolved reconstructions of biological specimens could allow us to cure diseases, manufacture personalized pharmaceuticals, and understand biological mechanisms happening at the atomic level. Recently developed Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques have enhanced our understanding of biomolecular materials through atomic resolution imaging. Unfortunately, these imaging methods are time-consuming, necessitate averaging images of potentially non-identical biomolecules and, most importantly, destroy the sample. Non-destructive imaging requires a significant decrease in the number of electrons hitting the sample: a dose limit approaching 1 e-/Å2 [1]. With current methods, if we decreased the dose such that we do not destroy the sample, we would not have enough signal-to-noise to recreate the faintest image of any specimen. Therefore, we need to develop a method to increase the information we get from each individual electron probing the sample. In quantum optics, a single photon interferometric technique exists in which information about the sample is gained even when the photon does not pass through the sample [2]. By using interaction-free photons, the dose decreases without sacrificing information. Theoretically, this quantum optics technique should be achievable with electrons [3]. Given this theory, single electron interferometry provides a low-dose, high-resolution TEM technique for imaging beam-sensitive materials.