Characterization of Dynamics in Materials Using Time-Resolved Electron Microscopy Incorporating Electron Counting and Electron Correlation Spectroscopy

Time-resolved electron microscopy incorporating electron counting and electron correlation spectroscopy can be used to quantify the dynamics in materials faster than the shot noise limit of the real-time observation in conventional transmission electron microscopy. An imaging electron beam current, temporally modulated by the dynamics of the specimen, is selected by the aperture in the image plane, and is measured by means of an electron counting technique. Applications of the method to the study of the dynamics of superconducting vortices and to the observation of nanovibrations of materials associated with elastic properties are discussed.