Science Illustrations and Movies - Physics on the Nanometer Scale
Physics Institute - University of Zurich
We employ Field Ion Microscopy and related techniques for fabricating and using electron and ion point sources. Coherent low-energy electron beams are used to acquire electron holograms of individual biological molecules which can be numerically reconstructed. More recently, we combined dedicated electron optical devices with our coherent electron beams to obtain over sampled coherent diffraction patterns from a single molecule. We expect that both methods eventually lead to new tools for structural biology on a single molecule level, free from disturbing radiation damage effects inherent to other radiation with sufficient short wavelengths and thus potential for atomic resolution.
Below, you find a selection of movies related to some of our efforts described above.
Growth and nucleation on free-standing graphene observed by low-energy electron transmission - read more |
PMMA is removed by catalytic supported air thermal annealing. The polymer is completely removed where palladium is deposited while the gold covered SiN surface is left with the polymer layer - read more |
Non-destructive Holographic Imaging of DNA by Coherent Low-Energy Electrons - DNA has been exposed to 100.000.000 low-energy electrons per square-nanometer. Despite this vast dose, no sign of radiation damage has been observed - read more |
Low-energy electrons are sensitive to local electric fields. This might lead to a possibility of detecting individual charges as well as charge transfer- or transport-processes in biological molecules. |
The often discussed (but less often understood) double-slit experiment with electrons. The experimental three ingredients are: a coherent electron source - two nanometer-sized slits (holes in our case) milled in a thin film - and a spatial detector for low-energy electrons placed at some macroscopic distance away. It also needs proper means to keep everything well fixed and controlled in space. |