Microscopy and Microanalysis | 2019
Imaging Chiral Materials with Photon-Induced Near-Field Electron Microscopy
Abstract
Chirality is central to a number of open scientific questions and technologically relevant materials, including broken symmetry in the biochemistry of life, CP violation, magnetic skyrmions and metamaterials. The sub-nanometer resolution routinely achievable in transmission electron microscopy could improve our understanding of chirality. Three-dimensional chirality can only be characterized by tomography or with a probe that has controllable helicity. The latter approach allows for investigation of chiral quantum states and transitions that have no direct link to three-dimensional structure. Some progress has been made toward such a technique with electron vortices [1-3]. Another approach is to use electrons to probe the interaction between circularly polarized light and chiral materials.