X-ray imaging of atomic nuclei

原子核的X光成像

Optically imaging atomic nuclei is a long-sought goal for scientific and applied research,but it has never been realized so far.We integrate aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy(STEM),the bremsstrahlung generation of X-ray photons,and the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic(EDS)receiving and mapping of the photons into a new microscopy method of optical imaging,by which atomic nuclei of different materials are successfully imaged with X-ray photons.Moreover,this imaging method is shown to be workable with different STEM instruments and be capable of distinguishing atomic nuclei of different elements and resolving imaged size differences of atomic nuclei with the order of magnitude as small as 1 pm.Therefore,it is a general method that can image atomic nuclei and their evolutions in materials science,chemistry and physics.

原子核的光学成像是科学研究和应用研究长期追求的目标,但迄今为止尚未实现.本文中,我们把球差校正的扫描透射电子显微术(STEM)、X光子的韧致辐射产生以及对这些光子的能量色散X射线光谱(EDS)接收和面扫绘图集成为一种新的光学成像显微方法,并通过该方法成功用X光子对不同材料的原子核实现成像.而且,研究表明该方法能用不同的STEM设备实施,也能区分不同元素的原子核和分辨小至1皮米量级的原子核成像差异.因此,该方法是一种能对原子核及其在材料科学、化学和物理中的演变进行成像的通用方法.