Relativistic correction of atomic scattering factors for high-energy electron diffraction

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Quantum Mechanics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Relativistic electron diffraction is crucial for materials analysis.
• The commonly used Schrödinger equation often neglects quadratic electric potential terms.
• This omission can affect the accuracy of scattering amplitude calculations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of the neglected quadratic electric potential term on relativistic electron diffraction.
• To develop a correction method for atomic scattering amplitudes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the quadratic electric potential term in relativistic electron diffraction.
• Derivation of a closed-form correction based on the screened Coulomb potential squared.

Main Results:

• The quadratic term significantly modifies atomic scattering amplitudes, particularly for large-angle and backscattering.
• The correction's magnitude increases with scattering angle, atomic number, and kinetic energy.
• A universal correction factor was derived.

Conclusions:

• The quadratic electric potential term is essential for accurate relativistic electron diffraction, especially at large angles.
• The derived correction can be applied to existing electron scattering tabulations.
• This work improves the precision of electron diffraction analysis.