International Team of Scientists Develops Revolutionary Microscopy Method

A team from Trinity College Dublin has innovated a microscopic imaging technique that lowers radiation exposure and speeds up the process, enhancing safety and efficiency in imaging sensitive materials.
An international team of scientists, led by Trinity College Dublin, has developed an advanced imaging technique using cutting-edge microscopes. This new method significantly cuts down on both time and radiation exposure. Their achievement marks a major breakthrough, benefiting multiple fields, from materials science to medicine. The technique offers enhanced imaging for delicate materials like biological tissues, which are particularly prone to damage.

Currently, scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEMs) direct a highly focused beam of electrons across samples, building up images point by point. Conventionally, at each point, the beam stops for a fixed, predefined time, pausing to accumulate signal(s). Somewhat like cameras using photographic film, this yields images with a constant exposure time everywhere regardless of the features in the image area. Electrons are continually falling on the sample until the so-called “dwell-time” for each pixel has passed. The conventional approach is simple to implement, but risks using excessive damaging irradiation that may lead to sample transformation or destruction.