Single particle microscopy with nanometer resolution

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates nanometer-resolution transmission microscopy using a deterministic single particle source, achieving high signal-to-noise ratio and precise beam control for advanced imaging applications.

Contribution

It introduces a deterministic ion source for microscopy, significantly improving image quality and enabling efficient, information-driven imaging strategies.

Findings

Achieved 8.6 nm spatial resolution in transmission microscopy.

Suppressed detector dark counts by six orders of magnitude.

Enabled precise beam characterization using Bayesian experiment design.

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate nanoscopic transmission microscopy relying on a deterministic single particle source. This increases the signal-to-noise ratio with respect to conventional microscopy methods, which employ Poissonian particle sources. We use laser-cooled ions extracted from a Paul trap, and demonstrate remote imaging of transmissive objects with a resolution of 8.6 $\pm$ 2.0nm and a minimum two-sample deviation of the beam position of 1.5nm. Detector dark counts can be suppressed by 6 orders of magnitudes through gating by the extraction event. The deterministic nature of our source enables an information-gain driven approach to imaging. We demonstrate this by performing efficient beam characterization based on a Bayes experiment design method.