Measurement of charge density in nanoscale materials using off-axis electron holography

Highlights: • Three different approaches for the determination of local charge density distributions in nanoscale materials using off-axis electron holography are compared. • A numerical model-based iterative reconstruction approach is developed and illustrated for an electrically biased field emitter. • The prospect for the reconstruction of three-dimensional charge density distributions from tomographic tilt series of phase images is discussed. - Abstract: Three approaches for the measurement of charge density distributions in nanoscale materials from electron optical phase images recorded using off-axis electron holography are illustrated through the study of an electrically biased needle-shaped sample. We highlight the advantages of using a model-based iterative algorithm, which allows a priori information, such as the shape of the object and the influence of charges that are located outside the field of view, to be taken into account. The recovered charge density can be used to infer the electric field and electrostatic potential.