飞秒时间分辨的能谱分析光电子显微镜：异质结超快载流子动力学测量

本文成功搭建了一套集成了能谱分析功能的时间分辨光电子显微镜系统(TR-PEEM),能够对电子密度分布进行时间分辨和能量分辨的成像.这套4D显微镜在空间、时间、能量多维度获取电子动力学信息提供了前所未有的手段.本文使用184 fs的时间分辨、150 meV的能量分辨和优于150 nm的空间分辨对半导体进行了测量,在Si(111)表面的Pb岛上获得了微区光电子能谱和能量分辨的TR-PEEM图像.实验结果表明,这套系统是进行异质结载流子动力学观察的有力工具,有助于在亚微米/纳米空间尺度和超快时间尺度上加深对半导体性质的理解.     

飞秒时间分辨的能谱分析光电子显微镜:异质结超快载流子动力学测量（英文）

本文成功搭建了一套集成了能谱分析功能的时间分辨光电子显微镜系统(TR-PEEM),能够对电子密度分布进行时间分辨和能量分辨的成像.这套4D显微镜在空间、时间、能量多维度获取电子动力学信息提供了前所未有的手段.本文使用184 fs的时间分辨、150 meV的能量分辨和优于150 nm的空间分辨对半导体进行了测量,在Si(111)表面的Pb岛上获得了微区光电子能谱和能量分辨的TR-PEEM图像.实验结果表明,这套系统是进行异质结载流子动力学观察的有力工具,有助于在亚微米/纳米空间尺度和超快时间尺度上加深对半导体性质的理解.     

超快时间分辨光电子显微镜技术及应用

光电子显微镜是一种基于光电效应的电子显微镜,利用样品不同空间位置光电子产量的差异作为图像衬度进行投影成像。其成像速度快、空间分辨率高、探测无损伤等特点和优势,在表面科学、表面等离激元学、半导体学等学科有着广泛应用。另外,结合超快光泵浦探测技术为光电子显微镜提供了高时间分辨能力,特别适用于高时空分辨的动力学过程研究。时间分辨光电子显微镜是具备多维度直观测量的技术方法,为研究人员开辟了新的道路。文章首先简要回顾电子显微成像技术的发展,然后介绍在表面等离激元学和半导体物理领域中应用光电子显微镜的最新进展,最后介绍北京大学最近建设的超快光电子显微镜系统和相关研究工作及展望。     

紫外光诱导光电子发射负离子源的阈值光电子成像仪设计 (cited: 2)

设计了一套紧凑的光电子成像装置,它包括解离式光电子贴附负离子源、垂直安装的高分辨阈值光电子速度成像装置和线性飞行时间质谱仪．紫外光辐射金属表面诱导低能光电子发射,再通过低能电子贴附超声分子束产生高强度和冷的负离子源．结合这种负离子源和飞行时间质谱-光电子成像仪装置,仪器的质量分辨能达到200左右,能量分辨优于3%(即对1 eV动能的电子,分辨达到30 meV)．此外,使用该实验装置获得了CH₃S^-和S₂^-在611.46 nm下的低能阈值光电子成像结果．同时得到了CH₃S和S₂的更精确的电子亲和势分别为1.8626±0.0020和1.6744±0.0035 eV．初步的结果证明了该装置对研究阈值光电子成像精确测量光电子亲和势非常有效     

超分辨光学成像中的高速高精度图像分析方法

本刊讯光学显微镜的分辨率受到衍射效应的限制。自1873年以来,200nm的“阿贝极限”一直被认为是光学显微镜理论上的分辨率极限。近年,人们在超越衍射极限的成像方法研究中取得了令人瞩目的进展,其中,基于单分子定位的超分辨光学成像技术,获得了高达30～50nm的空间分辨率,为科学研究的诸多领域,尤其是活细胞内动态过程的研究,提供了前所未有的工具。     

基于声光可调谐滤光器的显微光谱成像技术

为了解决传统声光可调谐滤光器(AOTF)成像模糊的缺点,设计了一种新的AOTF。该器件通过在传统的AOTF的出射孔后面放置一个自行设计的等边色散棱镜来实现对衍射光的色散展宽进行补偿,明显地提高了成像的对比度和空间分辨率。将此器件附加在传统光学显微镜上,获得了一种新型的光谱显微成像仪器。其光谱分辨率在575nm波长处为4.2nm、成像空间分辨率为2μm、图像采集速度为毫秒量级。为基于AOTF的光谱成像技术在生物医学等领域的更广泛的应用奠定了基础。     

基于点扫描的超分辨显微成像进展

光学显微镜一直推动着现代科学技术的发展.随着科学的进步,对显微成像分辨率的要求在生物、材料等领域日渐凸显,而常规宽场显微成像一直面临着成像分辨率衍射受限的问题.1968年出现的共聚焦显微镜作为点扫描显微镜的开端第一次实现了远场下成像分辨率的突破,它具有层切性好、信噪比高等优点.在1994年出现的受激辐射荧光损耗显微镜将显微成像能力突破到2.8 nm左右,并成为目前效果最佳、应用较广泛的超分辨显微技术.荧光差分显微和饱和荧光吸收竞争等点扫描技术具有无荧光染剂限制、饱和光强低、光路简单等优势,并且能取得1/6波长的分辨能力,进而在超分辨显微领域仍有着发挥空间.Airyscan技术作为以上方法的补充可以弥补点扫描系统中由于探测小孔半径减小而带来的信号丢失,从而提高成像信噪比和分辨率,但阵列探测器成本较高.上述点扫描显微镜通过改变照明或者探测的方式实现了分辨率突破.本文详细讨论了点扫描超分辨方法的原理、成像效果及面临的瓶颈,并分析了点扫描超分辨显微镜在应用和技术上的趋势.     

电离光电子动力学特征及其成像图谱

基于抛物线坐标系的电离光电子运动方程,分析了具有不同动能光电子运动轨道及其特征,给出了光电子投射到探测器上的半径表示。结果表明,快电子成像图谱既反映了光电子的能量特点,也反映了所处轨道的空间分布信息;慢电子的成像图谱则与其所具有的能量密切相关,光电子主要集中在成像图谱的中心区域。     

酞菁铜与MoS_2(0001)范德瓦耳斯异质结研究

利用光电子能谱、原子力显微镜以及低能电子衍射等表面研究手段系统研究了真空沉积生长的酞菁铜薄膜与衬底MoS2(0001)之间的范德瓦耳斯异质结界面电子结构和几何结构.角分辨光电子能谱清楚地再现了MoS2(0001)衬底在Γ点附近的能带结构.低能电子衍射结果表明,CuPc薄膜在MoS2(0001)表面沿着衬底表面[11ˉ20],[1ˉ210]和[ˉ2110]三个晶向有序生长,反映了衬底对CuPc的影响.原子力显微镜结果表明,CuPc在MoS2衬底上遵循层状-岛状生长模式:在低生长厚度下(单层薄膜厚度约为0.3 nm),CuPc分子平面平行于MoS2表面上形成均匀连续的薄膜;在较高的沉积厚度下,CuPc沿衬底晶向形成棒状晶粒,表现出明显的各向异性.光电子能谱显示界面偶极层为0.07 eV,而且能谱在膜厚1.2 nm饱和,揭示了酞菁铜与MoS2(0001)范德瓦耳斯异质结的能级结构.     

基于光场的超快相干电子源产生及调控研究进展(特邀)

光与物质之间的相互作用是自然界中最基本的物质相互作用之一,这种动力学的完全可视化需要时间上的阿秒分辨率和空间上的原子级分辨率。超短相干电子源是实现这一目标的重要方法。本文介绍了利用各种光场如射频、太赫兹、可见光来产生、相空间调控甚至表征这种超短相干的高品质电子源的重要进展,并主要总结了其在四维超快电子显微镜方面的技术突破,为"阿秒显微镜"的建立开辟了道路,使对电子运动成像成为可能,最后对超快电子研究的发展进行了展望。     

Image resolution and sensitivity in an environmental transmission electron microscope

An environmental transmission electron microscope provides unique means for the atomic-scale exploration of nanomaterials during the exposure to a reactive gas environment. Here we examine conditions to obtain such in situ observations in the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) mode with an image resolution of 0.10nm. This HRTEM image resolution threshold is mapped out under different gas conditions, including gas types and pressures, and under different electron optical settings, including electron beam energies, doses and dose-rates. The 0.10nm resolution is retainable for H(2) at 1-10mbar. Even for N(2), the 0.10nm resolution threshold is reached up to at least 10mbar. The optimal imaging conditions are determined by the electron beam energy and the dose-rate as well as an image signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio that is consistent with Rose's criterion of S/N≥5. A discussion on the electron-gas interactions responsible for gas-induced resolution deterioration is given based on interplay with complementary electron diffraction (ED), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) as well as electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) data.     

Inspection of nano-sized SNOM-tips by optical far-field evaluation

High resolution optical microscopy has many interesting applications in solid state physics, low temperature physics, biology and semiconductor technology. Unfortunately, the lateral resolution of conventional microscopes is limited by the Rayleigh-limit. “Scanning nearfield optical microscopy” (SNOM) seems to be a promising new approach to characterize the properties of materials optically with a high lateral resolution of 50–100 nm. The most important part of such a microscope is the scanning probe (a special glass fiber tip). However, the quality of the optical fiber tip is of decisive importance. Since the production process of pulled and coated glass fiber tips is still highly empirical and error-prone, a technique would be useful to determine the tips’ quality before they are shipped to the user or mounted in the microscope. The tips’ apertures are smaller than λ/2 and therefore they cannot be measured in a non-destructive way by conventional optical microscopy. This paper discusses an easy and fast method for the optical characterization of common glass fiber SNOM tips. The effective aperture of the tip is measured from the far-field distribution of the emitted intensity recorded by a CCD target. A numerical model is introduced to solve this inverse task and a simple optical setup is presented to detect light emitted by the tip at an angle of up to 90° from the optical axis. Experimental investigation, near/far-field calculations and scanning electron microscope investigations show the working principle of this measurement technique for the analysis and evaluation of a typical nanostructured object.     

Lateral resolving power of a time-of-flight photoemission electron microscope

The lateral resolution of a time-of-flight photoemission electron microscope has been theoretically analyzed. It has been shown that the resolution limit can reach a few nanometers. The lateral resolution will be higher if the photoelectrons forming the image are characterized by a smaller acceptance angle obtained with the help of diaphragms in the crossover plane, a higher initial energy and a narrower interval of electron energies. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. PACS 68.37.Xy     

High-resolution magnetic measurements at surfaces with spin polarized electrons

Observing the spin polarization of emitted electrons reveals surface magnetic information. In particular, high resolving power is achieved in different respects: 1) Magnetic micrography with a lateral resolution of 50 nm in a scanning electron microscope; 2) Non-destructive magnetic depth profiling in the 5–50 Å range with secondary electron emission; 3) Element specific chemical resolution using Auger electron emission; 4) Time-resolved magnetization measurements with pulsed-laser photoemission in less than 10 ns. The state-of-the-art of these techniques is illustrated with specific examples of surface magnetism.     

Time-of-flight photoemission electron microscopy – a new way to chemical surface analysis

The time structure of synchrotron radiation at BESSY I (Berlin) was utilised to operate a photoemission electron microscope in the time-of-flight mode. The electrons that are emitted from the sample surface with different energies are dispersed in a drift tube subsequent to the imaging optics. Two ways of fast image detection have been explored, a fast gated intensified CCD camera (800 ps gate time) and a special counting electronics in combination with a 3D (x,y,t)-resolving delay line detector (timeresolution<500 ps). The latter device has a lateral resolution of about 50 μm in the image plane being equivalent to 1000 pixels along the image diagonal. An energy resolution of 400 meV has been achieved. The future potential of time-resolving photoemission microscopy is discussed.     

Angle-resolved X-ray photoemission electron microscopy

Synchrotron based photoemission electron microscopy with energy filter combines real space imaging with microprobe diffraction (μ-ARPES), giving access to the local electronic structure of laterally inhomogeneous materials. We present here an overview of the capabilities of this technique, illustrating selected applications of angle resolved photoemission electron microscopy and related microprobe methods. In addition, we report the demonstration of a darkfield XPEEM (df-XPEEM) imaging method for real space mapping of the electronic structure away from Γ at a lateral resolution of few tens of nm. The application of df-XPEEM to the (1 × 12)-O/W(1 1 0) model oxide structure shows the high sensitivity of this technique to the local electronic structure, allowing to image domains with inequivalent adsorption site symmetry. Perspectives of angle-resolved PEEM are discussed.     

Femtosecond spectroscopic imaging by time-of-flight photoemission electron microscopy

Advances in electron optics and fast-pulsed light sources have enabled the imaging of nanoscale structures with simultaneous energy and time resolutions. We present the results obtained from a time-resolved time-of-flight photoemission electron microscopy (TR-TOF-PEEM) system. This system combined the spatial resolution of conventional PEEM with the time resolution of a femtosecond-pulsed laser and the energy resolution of a TOF energy analyzer. The TOF-PEEM system consists of three electrostatic lenses in front, a drift tube for the measurement of TOF, and a delay line detector (DLD) at the end of the optics. The excitation source is femtosecond pulses from a cavity-dumped Ti:sapphire oscillator that is frequency-doubled to 400 nm using a β-barium borate (BBO) crystal. Using a pump-probe two-photon photoemission technique, we demonstrate an example of sub-100 nm space-resolved ultrafast time evolution of the electron energy spectra for the plasmon resonance of an Ag-coated Si nanostructure, which exhibited unexpectedly intense high energy photoemission signals that show different time evolution between bright and dark regions in a PEEM image.     

Magneto-optical linear dichroism in threshold photoemission electron microscopy of polycrystalline Fe films

Magnetic linear dichroism in threshold photoemission has been exploited to obtain magnetic contrast in a photoemission electron microscope using a mercury arc lamp. The dichroism at threshold can be described similar to the magneto-optical Kerr effect in the region of visible light. The asymmetry of electron intensity observed for a 100 nm polycrystalline Fe film on silicon is A=(0.37+/-0.05)%. The asymmetry occurs for the geometry of the transverse Kerr effect. For unpolarized light the asymmetry was about half the value observed for linearly polarized light. Threshold photoemission microscopy has a large potential for high resolution magnetic domain imaging with fast data acquisition.     

A low voltage time of flight electron emission microscope

This paper presents the design of a low voltage time of flight electron emission microscope (TOF-EEM), which should in principle be capable of acquiring spectral chemical information at nano-metre spatial resolution. The system will be able to operate as a photoelectron emission microscope (PEEM), an X-ray photoemission electron microscope (XPEEM), or a secondary electron emission microscope (SEEM). For each pixel in its highly magnified topographic image, the TOF-EEM column should be able to provide the emission spectrum with milli-electron-volt resolution. The system is designed to operate at secondary electron beam voltages of typically less than 100 V, and has the possibility of dynamically correcting for chromatic aberration. Provisional simulation results predict that the TOF-EEM column should be able to provide an image resolution of better than 2 nm.     

Axial super-resolution by mirror-reflected stimulated emission depletion microscopy

In stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, the lateral resolution is in the range of tens of nanometers depending on the sample and the instrument. The axial resolution, however, is in standard systems limited by diffraction to about 500 nm. We present an approach to three-dimensional diffraction-unlimited resolution by observing the sample at two optical angles. The system is realized by using an atomic force microscope (AFM) chip as a microreflector to deflect the STED beams near the region-of-interest (ROI), thus allowing observations at an angle ∠. Consequently, the superior lateral resolution can be utilized to resolve details in the axial direction of the main optical axis of the microscope. Here, fluorescent nanoparticles 90 nm apart and biological structures 80 nm apart along axial direction were distinguished by utilizing an off-the-shelf, commercial STED microscope, coupled with an AFM and an AFM chip micro-reflector.