A proposal for the holographic correction of incoherent aberrations by tilted reference waves

The recently derived general transfer theory for off-axis electron holography provides a new approach for reconstructing the electron wave beyond the conventional sideband information limit. Limited ensemble coherence of the electron beam between object and reference area leads to an attenuation of spatial frequencies of the object exit wave in the presence of aberrations of the objective lens. Concerted tilts of the reference wave under the condition of an invariant object exit wave are proposed to diminish the aberration impact on spatial frequencies even beyond the sideband information limit allowing its transfer with maximum possible contrast. In addition to the theoretical considerations outlined in detail, an experimental proof-of-principle is presented. A fully controlled tilt of the reference wave, however, remains as a promising task for the future. The use of a hologram series with varying reference wave tilt is considered for linearly synthesizing an effective aperture for the transfer into the sideband with broader bandwidth compared to conventional off-axis electron holography allowing us to correct the incoherent aberrations in transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, tilting a reference wave with respect to a plane wave is expected to be an alternative way for measuring the coherent and incoherent aberrations of a transmission electron microscope. The capability of tilting the reference wave is expected to be beneficial for improving the signal-to-noise ratio in dark-field off-axis electron holography as well.