Electron Camera tagged posts

Using SLAC’s instrument for ultrafast electron diffraction, researchers were able to directly see the motions of atomic nuclei in vibrating molecules for the first time. In the experiment, a laser pulse (green) hit a spray of iodine gas (at right). This stimulated vibrations in the iodine molecules, which consist of two iodine atoms connected via a chemical bond (top left). The molecules were then hit by an electron beam (blue), generating a characteristic diffraction pattern (background) on a detector, from which the separation of the nuclei can be precisely determined. Credit: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) gives new ways to study rapid nuclear motions in nature’s light-dependent processes...

Understanding motions of thin layers may help design solar cells, flexible electronics and catalysts of the future. New research shows how individual atoms move in trillionths of a second to form wrinkles on a 3-atom-thick material. It was made possible with SLAC’s instrument for ultrafast electron diffraction (UED), which uses energetic electrons to take snapshots of atoms and molecules on timescales as fast as 100 quadrillionths of a second.

Monolayers, or 2D materials, contain just a single layer of molecules. In this form they can take on new and exciting properties such as superior mechanical strength and an extraordinary ability to conduct electricity and heat...