Transmission Electron Microscopy at the Quantum Limit

Abstract

A number of visions for a new generation of dose-efficient electron microscopes have been advanced. These proposals, while inspired by quantum principles, make little contact with the broader field of quantum metrology. We discuss a framework calculating the amount of information carried by each electron. This makes it possible to evaluate the potential effectiveness of any particular microscope architecture relative to the quantum limit for information per dose. In the case of phase imaging, we argue this limit is at least an order of magnitude beyond what is possible with aberration-free Zernike phase contrast.

TEM at millikelvin temperatures: Observing and utilizing superconducting qubits

“…It is necessary to understand physics of heat leakage to protect the millikelvin environment. The Stefan-Boltzmann law says that the thermal radiation heat is proportional to 𝑇 4 , where 𝑇 is the temperature of the heat source. This highlights the importance of having metallic radiation shields, each anchored at an appropriate temperature stage of the refrigerator:…”

“…On the other hand, superconducting qubits, which are one of the most promising physical systems for quantum information processing, demand a millikelvin environment. Thus, we contend that millikelvin TEM will profitably connect, in a nontrivial manner, research fields of quantum information technology [1], high-resolution biological electron microscopy [2], and quantum electron optics [3,4]. Below, we briefly review each of these subjects.…”

“…Referring to cryoET, it has been mentioned that "If these methods develop to the point at which we can map macromolecules into 3D cell structure, a new era in cell biology is bound to emerge" [17]. This brings us to a discussion of quantum electron optics [3,4], where free-space electrons act as carriers of quantum information. Here, one may identify two distinct threads of research.…”