Electron techniques encompass a set of experimental methods that exploit the wave–particle duality and charge of electrons to probe, image, or modify matter at microscopic to atomic scales. Key modalities include electron microscopy (e.g., TEM, SEM, STEM), electron diffraction, and various electron spectroscopy techniques (such as AES and EELS), which rely on controlled electron beams and their interactions with atomic potentials, electronic structure, and surface topography. These techniques provide high spatial and energy resolution, enabling quantitative characterization of crystallography, composition, electronic states, and defects in materials, and are fundamental in condensed matter physics, materials science, nanotechnology, and surface science.
Researchers from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have stretched a chain of gold atoms by a record-breaking 46%, providing direct evidence of how fundamental metal bonds behave under ...
Nanophysics
Jan 28, 2026
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46
Charge density waves (CDWs) are ordered, crystal-like patterns in the arrangement of electrons that spontaneously form inside some solid materials. These patterns can change how electricity flows through materials, in some ...
Taking images of tiny structures within cells is tricky business. One technique, cryogenic electron tomography (cryoET), shoots electrons through a frozen sample. The images formed by the electrons that emerge allow researchers ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 17, 2026
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55
During chemical reactions, atoms in the reacting substances break their bonds and re-arrange, forming different chemical products. This process entails the movement of both electrons (i.e., negatively charged particles) and ...
Graphene could transform everything from electric cars to smartphones, but only if we can guarantee its quality. The University of Manchester has led the world's largest study to set a new global benchmark for testing graphene's ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 13, 2026
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72
To ensure that the tissue structures of biological samples are easily recognizable under the electron microscope, they are treated with a staining agent. The standard staining agent for this is uranyl acetate. However, some ...
Biotechnology
Jan 8, 2026
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489
A joint research team from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory has achieved precise control and real-time observation of atomic-scale structural ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 5, 2026
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24
The ability to precisely study and manipulate electrons in electron microscopes could open new possibilities for the development of both ultrafast imaging techniques and quantum technologies.
Researchers at the VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology have developed a new microfluidics-based workflow that enables high-resolution cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure determination from extremely small ...
Biotechnology
Nov 13, 2025
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20
A pulse of light sets the tempo in the material. Atoms in a crystalline sheet just a few atoms thick begin to move—not randomly, but in a coordinated rhythm, twisting and untwisting in sync like dancers following a beat.
Condensed Matter
Nov 12, 2025
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105
