On artefact-free reconstruction of low-energy (30-250 eV) electron holograms

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel sideband filtering reconstruction method that effectively eliminates twin images and circumvents biprism-like effects in low-energy electron holography, improving image quality for biomolecular imaging.

Contribution

It presents a new reconstruction technique that addresses twin image and biprism-like effects in low-energy electron holography, enhancing artifact-free imaging.

Findings

The method successfully removes twin images from holograms.

It effectively identifies and circumvents biprism-like effects.

Demonstrated on both simulated and experimental data.

Abstract

Low-energy electrons (30-250 eV) have been successfully employed for imaging individual biomolecules. The most simple and elegant design of a low-energy electron microscope for imaging biomolecules is a lensless setup that operates in the holographic mode. In this work we address the problem associated with the reconstruction from the recorded holograms. We discuss the twin image problem intrinsic to inline holography and the problem of the so-called biprism-like effect specific to low-energy electrons. We demonstrate how the presence of the biprism-like effect can be efficiently identified and circumvented. The presented sideband filtering reconstruction method eliminates the twin image and allows for reconstruction despite the biprism-like effect, which we demonstrate on both, simulated and experimental examples.