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  • Review Article
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Resolution and aberration correction in liquid cell transmission electron microscopy

Nature Reviews Materials volume 4, pages 61–78 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Liquid cell electron microscopy possesses a combination of spatial and temporal resolution that provides a unique view of static structures and dynamic processes in liquids. Optimizing the resolution in liquids requires consideration of both the microscope performance and the properties of the sample. In this Review, we survey the competing factors that determine spatial and temporal resolution for transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy of liquids. We discuss the effects of sample thickness, stability and dose sensitivity on spatial and temporal resolution. We show that for some liquid samples, spatial resolution can be improved by spherical and chromatic aberration correction. However, other benefits offered by aberration correction may be even more useful for liquid samples. We consider the greater image interpretability offered by spherical aberration correction and the improved dose efficiency for thicker samples offered by chromatic aberration correction. Finally, we discuss the importance of detector and sample parameters for higher resolution in future experiments.

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Fig. 1: Electron density required to reach a desired spatial resolution at 200 keV for typical materials.
Fig. 2: Theoretical maximum image resolution versus thickness of water.
Fig. 3: Resolution in different imaging modes.
Fig. 4: Effect of CS correction in TEM.
Fig. 5: Influence of CC correction on energy-filtered TEM.
Fig. 6: Bright-field TEM images of a thick sample of a whole mount macrophage cell.
Fig. 7: Electron holography and associated analysis of a hydrated bacterial cell.
Fig. 8: In situ TEM of nanocube rotation.
Fig. 9: Time-resolved STEM imaging of gold nanoparticles moving in liquid.

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Acknowledgements

N.dJ. acknowledges H. Demers, T. Dahmen, M. Elbaum, D. Peckys and S. Wolf for discussions, a fellowship of the Visiting Faculty Program of the Weizmann Institute and E. Arzt for his support through the Leibniz Institute for New Materials (INM). L.H. and R.E.D.-B. are grateful to M. Luysberg, J. Barthel, A. Thust, K. Urban, S. Mi, C. Boothroyd, A. Kovács, J. Mayer, L. Allen, B. Forbes, J. Jinschek, J.-P. Baudoin, L. Cervera Gontard, D. Ozkaya, T. Hansen and M. Bar Sadan for discussions. F.M.R. acknowledges J.H. Park, N. Browning, S.W. Chee, J. Evans, D. Muller, R. Tromp and J. Hannon for helpful discussions.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Frances M. Ross

    Present address: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INM — Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Saarbrücken, Germany

    Niels de Jonge

  2. Department of Physics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany

    Niels de Jonge

  3. Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons and Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany

    Lothar Houben & Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski

  4. Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

    Lothar Houben

  5. IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA

    Frances M. Ross

Authors
  1. Niels de Jonge
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  2. Lothar Houben
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  3. Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski
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  4. Frances M. Ross
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the discussion of content and researched data for the article. R.E.D.-B. and L.H. wrote the section on aberration correction. N.dJ. and F.M.R. wrote the sections on spatial and temporal resolution. All authors edited the article prior to submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frances M. Ross.

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de Jonge, N., Houben, L., Dunin-Borkowski, R.E. et al. Resolution and aberration correction in liquid cell transmission electron microscopy. Nat Rev Mater 4, 61–78 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-018-0071-2

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