Probing condensed matter with the modern fast electron

Full text: Recent advances in electron-optics have given us the ability to generate and manipulate highly stable, phase coherent electron wavefields that can be brought to a focal point much smaller than an atom. This is enabling the exploration of fundamental phenomena in quantum physics, electron-optics and electron-atom interactions. It is also being applied to probe the atomic and electronic structure of matter with unprecedented spatial and energy resolution. In particular, electron scattering experiments can now be performed from small numbers of 'important' atoms selected from within a specimen, offering powerful capabilities for determining the local structure and bonding of 'nanostructured materials'. This talk will give an overview of these developments, and will illustrate with various applications, such as mapping surface plasmon polaritons in metallic nanostructures; revealing Li-dependent 3D octahedral superlattices in Li-ion conductors; structure-property relationships in semiconducting nanostructures; understanding crystal growth and shape control in metal nanoparticles; and 'imaging' the distribution of electrons as they scatter within an atomic lattice. (author)