The Brave New World of meV EELS in the Electron Microscope

The combination of energy loss (EELS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) made it possible to not only image specimens at nanometer (or even atomic) resolution but also map the constituents and give information about bonding. However in optical spectroscopy terms low loss EELS is only equivalent to UV spectroscopy. The combination of the monochromator with the spectrometer on the Nion has opened up not only the visible region, but also makes it possible to probe far infra-red excitations at the nanometer scale. There are four broad areas of application:
- Nanophotonics
- Spectroscopic identification of point defects
- Localized infra-red spectroscopy of biomolecules, including damage free spectroscopy
- Measuring phonon modes in solids, including localized modes associated with defects
In this talk, Dr. Peter Reza, a professor at Arizona State University, presents examples from each area and discusses what new theoretical/computational methods are needed to quantify these results.