Quantifying transient states in materials with the dynamic transmission electron microscope

The dynamic transmission electron microscope (DTEM) offers a means of capturing rapid evolution in a specimen through in situ microscopy experiments by allowing 15-ns electron micrograph exposure times. The rapid exposure time is enabled by creating a burst of electrons at the emitter by ultraviolet pulsed laser illumination. This burst arrives at a specified time after a second laser initiates the specimen reaction. The timing of the two Q-switched lasers is controlled by high-speed pulse generators with a timing error much less than the pulse duration. Both diffraction and imaging experiments can be performed, just as in a conventional TEM. The brightness of the emitter and the total current control the spatial and temporal resolutions. We have demonstrated 7-nm spatial resolution in single 15-ns pulsed images. These single-pulse imaging experiments have been used to study martensitic transformations, nucleation and crystallization of an amorphous metal and rapid chemical reactions. Measurements have been performed on these systems that are possible by no other experimental approaches currently available.