Limits of Three-Dimensional Resolution and Dose for Aberration-Corrected Electron Tomography

A prime goal in science is to directly measure the complete three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of atoms in matter. Sampling limitations and the connection between lateral resolution and depth of focus have limited such measurements to the smallest specimens. Here the authors show that aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron tomography can offer dose-efficient 3D reconstruction that measures (up to a specified cutoff resolution) complete information for specimens of any size, with no sampling limit. The team presents analytic descriptions of resolution, sampling, object size, and dose in convergent-beam tomography, in direct analogy to the traditional Crowther-Klug criterion.