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Fu X, Sun Z, Ji S, Liu F, Feng M, Yoo BK, Zhu Y. Nanoscale-Femtosecond Imaging of Evanescent Surface Plasmons on Silver Film by Photon-Induced Near-Field Electron Microscopy. Nano Lett 2022; 22:2009-2015. [PMID: 35226510 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c04774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Surface plasmons on silver nanostructures have a broad range of tunable resonance properties in visible and near-infrared regimes, which possess wide applications in nanophotonics and optoelectronics. Here we use a femtosecond laser to excite surface plasmons on a silver film and trace the subsequent transient dynamics via photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM). A polarization experiment of PINEM demonstrates a conspicuous polarization dependence of the transient surface plasmon field on the silver film; however, unlike silver nanowires and nanorods, there is no polarization dependence for the PINEM intensity. This compelling finding suggests a thin film platform can be more easily used to identify the temporal and spatial overlaps between the pump laser and probe electron pulses in 4D ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM). Our work illustrates the femtosecond excitation and transient behavior of the surface plasmons on silver film and paves a universal, simple way for identifying the time zero in 4D UEM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuewen Fu
- Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Laboratory, The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Zepeng Sun
- Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Laboratory, The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Shaozheng Ji
- Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Laboratory, The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Fang Liu
- Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Laboratory, The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Min Feng
- Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Laboratory, The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Byung-Kuk Yoo
- Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States
| | - Yimei Zhu
- Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
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Di Giulio V, Kfir O, Ropers C, García de Abajo FJ. Modulation of Cathodoluminescence Emission by Interference with External Light. ACS Nano 2021; 15:7290-7304. [PMID: 33724007 PMCID: PMC8939848 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c00549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Spontaneous processes triggered in a sample by free electrons, such as cathodoluminescence, are commonly regarded and detected as stochastic events. Here, we supplement this picture by showing through first-principles theory that light and free-electron pulses can interfere when interacting with a nanostructure, giving rise to a modulation in the spectral distribution of the cathodoluminescence light emission that is strongly dependent on the electron wave function. Specifically, for a temporally focused electron, cathodoluminescence can be canceled upon illumination with a spectrally modulated dimmed laser that is phase-locked relative to the electron density profile. We illustrate this idea with realistic simulations under attainable conditions in currently available ultrafast electron microscopes. We further argue that the interference between excitations produced by light and free electrons enables the manipulation of the ultrafast materials response by combining the spectral and temporal selectivity of the light with the atomic resolution of electron beams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerio Di Giulio
- ICFO-Institut de
Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Ofer Kfir
- IV Physical Institute,
Solids and Nanostructures, University of
Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Max Planck
Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPIBPC), 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Claus Ropers
- IV Physical Institute,
Solids and Nanostructures, University of
Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Max Planck
Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPIBPC), 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - F. Javier García de Abajo
- ICFO-Institut de
Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis
Avançats, Passeig
Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
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Harvey TR, Henke JW, Kfir O, Lourenço-Martins H, Feist A, García de Abajo FJ, Ropers C. Probing Chirality with Inelastic Electron-Light Scattering. Nano Lett 2020; 20:4377-4383. [PMID: 32383890 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Circular dichroism spectroscopy is an essential technique for understanding molecular structure and magnetic materials; however, spatial resolution is limited by the wavelength of light, and sensitivity sufficient for single-molecule spectroscopy is challenging. We demonstrate that electrons can efficiently measure the interaction between circularly polarized light and chiral materials with deeply subwavelength resolution. By scanning a nanometer-sized focused electron beam across an optically excited chiral nanostructure and measuring the electron energy spectrum at each probe position, we produce a high-spatial-resolution map of near-field dichroism. This technique offers a nanoscale view of a fundamental symmetry and could be employed as "photon staining" to increase biomolecular material contrast in electron microscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler R Harvey
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jan-Wilke Henke
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ofer Kfir
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Armin Feist
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - F Javier García de Abajo
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Claus Ropers
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
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Lu Y, Yoo BK, Ng AHC, Kim J, Yeom S, Tang J, Lin MM, Zewail AH, Heath JR. 4D electron microscopy of T cell activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:22014-9. [PMID: 31611413 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1914078116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
T cells can be controllably stimulated through antigen-specific or nonspecific protocols. Accompanying functional hallmarks of T cell activation can include cytoskeletal reorganization, cell size increase, and cytokine secretion. Photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM) is used to image and quantify evanescent electric fields at the surface of T cells as a function of various stimulation conditions. While PINEM signal strength scales with multiple of the biophysical changes associated with T cell functional activation, it mostly strongly correlates with antigen-engagement of the T cell receptors, even under conditions that do not lead to functional T cell activation. PINEM image analysis suggests that a stimulation-induced reorganization of T cell surface structure, especially over length scales of a few hundred nanometers, is the dominant contributor to these PINEM signal changes. These experiments reveal that PINEM can provide a sensitive label-free probe of nanoscale cellular surface structures.
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Kaplan M, Yoo BK, Tang J, Karam TE, Liao B, Majumdar D, Baltimore D, Jensen GJ, Zewail AH. Photon-Induced Near-Field Electron Microscopy of Eukaryotic Cells. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017; 56:11498-11501. [PMID: 28736869 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201706120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM) is a technique to produce and then image evanescent electromagnetic fields on the surfaces of nanostructures. Most previous applications of PINEM have imaged surface plasmon-polariton waves on conducting nanomaterials. Here, the application of PINEM on whole human cancer cells and membrane vesicles isolated from them is reported. We show that photons induce time-, orientation-, and polarization-dependent evanescent fields on the surfaces of A431 cancer cells and isolated membrane vesicles. Furthermore, the addition of a ligand to the major surface receptor on these cells and vesicles (epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR) reduces the intensity of these fields in both preparations. We propose that in the absence of plasmon waves in biological samples, these evanescent fields reflect the changes in EGFR kinase domain polarization upon ligand binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Kaplan
- Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Byung-Kuk Yoo
- Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Jau Tang
- Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Tony E Karam
- Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Bolin Liao
- Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Devdoot Majumdar
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - David Baltimore
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Grant J Jensen
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Ahmed H Zewail
- Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
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