Investigation of gas-electron interactions with electron holography

Using the combination of off-axis electron holography and environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), an experimental setup termed 'gas electron holography', we investigate how the presence of gas in the microscope affects the spatial and phase resolution of electron holograms. The gas is introduced either by using an Environmental TEM (ETEM) or a closed-cell holder. The ETEM data on gas electron holography shows that the number of electrons reaching the detector decreases exponentially as a function of gas pressure. From this evidence, we construct a phenomenological model that describes how coherency changes as a function of gas pressure. By linking the model with the concept of inelastic scattering cross section we find that the change in the coherency of the electron beam due to the presence of gas is related to the number of gas molecules present, their atomic weight and the average energy lost due to inelastic scattering. Regarding gas electron holography with a closed cell holder, we conclude that the membranes surrounding the gas are the primary factor in determining the quality of the electron hologram, while the gas pressure inside the cell has a small impact on the spatial and phase resolution of the electron holograms.