Scientists image atoms with record resolution close to absolute physical limits

[C C]

https://www.zmescience.com/science/scien...al-limits/

INTRO: Physicists at Cornell University have pushed the boundaries of atomic imaging by pushing the resolution of an electron microscope by a factor of two. While many modern smartphones have high-resolution cameras that allow you to zoom in a lot, they’re no match for this setup that can reconstruct ultraprecise images with one-trillionth of a meter precision. You can see individual atoms and the chemical bonds in molecules.

The researchers, led by Professor David Muller, devised an electron microscope pixel array detector and state-of-the-art 3D reconstruction algorithms to take laser-precise images of atoms. The resolution is so sharp that the only blurred element is the thermal jiggling of the atoms themselves.

“This doesn’t just set a new record,” Muller said. “It’s reached a regime which is effectively going to be an ultimate limit for resolution. We basically can now figure out where the atoms are in a very easy way. This opens up a whole lot of new measurement possibilities of things we’ve wanted to do for a very long time,” Muller said.

The breakthrough hinges on a computer-algorithm-driven technique known as ptychography, which works by scanning overlapping scattering patterns from a sample and then looking for changes in the overlapping region... (MORE - details)

[Image: researchers-see-atoms-1024x577.jpg]