Microscopy and Microanalysis

Table of Contents - 2009 - Volume 15, Issue 04  

Special Section: Ultrafast Electron Microscopy

The Development and Applications of Ultrafast Electron Nanocrystallography

Chong-Yu Ruana1 c1, Yoshie Murookaa1, Ramani K. Ramana1, Ryan A. Murdicka1, Richard J. Worhatcha1 and Aric Pella1

a1 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA

Abstract

We review the development of ultrafast electron nanocrystallography as a method for investigating structural dynamics for nanoscale materials and interfaces. Its sensitivity and resolution are demonstrated in the studies of surface melting of gold nanocrystals, nonequilibrium transformation of graphite into reversible diamond-like intermediates, and molecular scale charge dynamics, showing a versatility for not only determining the structures, but also the charge and energy redistribution at interfaces. A quantitative scheme for 3D retrieval of atomic structures is demonstrated with few-particle (<1,000) sensitivity, establishing this nanocrystallographic method as a tool for directly visualizing dynamics within isolated nanomaterials with atomic scale spatio-temporal resolution.

(Received December 09 2008)

(Accepted April 28 2009)

Key words

Correspondence:

c1 Corresponding author. E-mail: ruan@pa.msu.edu

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