Visualizing Atomic Nanophotonics with Optically Coupled Transmission Electron Microscopy

Light is a ubiquitous and critical resource in our daily lives. Light facilitates our ability to see, enables near-instantaneous global communications, and is the sole energy source for the photosynthetic organisms that comprise the base of the food chain on Earth. Around the world, scientists and engineers are pushing the limits of light to create the next generation of optical technologies that will enable ultrafast optical computers, self-driving cars, rapid medical diagnostics, and address the global climate crisis. In this presentation, I will introduce optically coupled electron microscopy, which couples light into, and collects light out of, a standard transmission electron microscope. This technique allows us to image the structural dynamics of materials under illumination with the atomic-resolution afforded by an electron microscope The studies highlighted in this presentation will span sustainability and medicine and are likely just the tip of the iceberg in what is possible when studying optical materials in the TEM.