GHz laser-free time-resolved transmission electron microscopy: A stroboscopic high-duty-cycle method

Abstract

Abstract.A device and a method for producing ultrashort electron pulses with GHz repetition rates via pulsing an input direct current (dc) electron beam are provided. The device and the method are based on an electromagnetic-mechanical pulser (EMMP) that consists of a series of transverse deflecting cavities and magnetic quadrupoles. The EMMP modulates and chops the incoming dc electron beam and converts it into pico-and sub-pico-second (100 fs to 10 ps) electron pulse sequences (pulse trains) at >1 GHz repetition rates, as well as controllably manipulates the resulting pulses, and ultimately leads to no electron pulse phase-space degradation compared to the incoming dc beam parameters. The temporal pulse length and repetition rate for the EMMP are both continuously tunable in wide ranges.Applying the EMMP to a transmission electron microscope (TEM) with any dc electron source (e.g. thermionic, Schottky, or field-emission source), a GHz stroboscopic high-duty-cycle TEM can be realized. Unlike in many recent developments in time-resolved TEM that rely on a sample pumping laser paired with a laser launching electrons from a photocathode to probe the sample, there is no laser in the presented experimental set-up. This is expected to be a significant relief for electron microscopists who are not familiar with laser systems. The EMMP and the sample are externally driven by a radiofrequency (RF) source synchronized through a delay line. With no laser pumping the sample, the problem of the pump laser induced residual heating/damaging the sample is eliminated. As many RF-driven processes can be cycled indefinitely, sampling rates of 1-50 GHz become accessible. Such a GHz stroboscopic TEM would open up a new paradigm for in situ and in operando experiments to study samples externally driven electromagnetically. Complementary to the * Also with POSTECH, Korea † s.baryshev@euclidtechlabs.com / sergey.v.baryshev@gmail.com 2 lower (MHz) repetition rates experiments enabled by laser photocathode TEM, new experiments in the high rep-rate multi-GHz regime will be enabled by the proposed RF design. Because TEM is also a platform for various analytical methods, there are infinite application opportunities in energy and electronics to resolve charge (electronic and ionic) transport, and magnetic, plasmonic and excitonic dynamics in advanced functional materials. In addition, because the beam duty-cycle can be as high as ~10%, detection can be accomplished by any number of commercially available detectors.In this article, we report an optimal design of the EMMP and an analytical generalized matrix approach in the thin lens approximation, along with detailed beam dynamics taking actual realistic dc beam parameters in a TEM operating at 200 keV.

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