Imaging electrons of transmission electron microscopes can be used in research to drive and study the dynamics of atomic processes, especially in materials such as graphene (a one-atom-thick carbon layer). The measurement have resulted in a demand for an accurate theoretical description of the elastic collision process between the imaging electrons and the atoms in the target material.
This method enables to measure the elastic collision process between imaging electrons and atoms in a target material to an unprecedented accuracy. This development allows for statistical differentiation between atoms with the same element but different atomic masses (i.e. between two isotopes).
The concentration of different isotopes from very small areas of a sample can be measured while simultaneously obtaining atomic resolution images of them. Depending on the isotope concentration in a given sample location and the voltage used to accelerate the electrons in the microscope, the concentration can be determined to reasonable accuracy by using the electrons to remove just a couple of atoms from the said location.