Prospects for sub-nanometer scale imaging of optical phenomena using electron microscopy
Abstract
Imaging of optical phenomena at the sub-nanometer scale can offer fundamental insights into the electronic or vibrational states in atomic-scale defects, molecules, and nanoparticles, which are important in quantum information, heterogeneous catalysis, optoelectronics, and structural biology. Several techniques have surpassed the traditional Abbe diffraction limit and attained spatial resolutions down to a few nanometers, but sub-nanometer scale optics has remained elusive. Here, we propose an approach that combines spectrally specific photoabsorption with sub-nanometer scale resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of photoexcited electrons. We first estimate the signal level and conditions required for imaging nanoscale optical phenomena in core-shell quantum dots (QDs) like CdS/CdTe. Furthermore, we show the possibility of imaging photoexcited states of atomic-scale defects in a monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) using ab initio and high resolution (HR)TEM simulations. The ability to directly visualize photoexcited states at the sub-nanometer scale opens opportunities to study properties of individual quantum dots and atomic defects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 18, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1063/5.0029979
Entities
People
- Archith Rayabharam
- Arun Majumdar
- Hao-kun Li
- Joel Martis
- Narayana R Aluru
- Ze Zhang
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Science Foundation
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
- Stanford University
- United States Department of Energy
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign