Retrofittable Laser-free Khz to GHz Tunable Pulser for Ultra-fast Electron Microscopy

Since its inception [1], the ultrafast transmission electron microscope, (UTEM) which is capable of imaging nanoscale phenomena at ultrafast timescales [2-4], has increasingly gained attractions among researchers. As a result, major TEM vendors have now provided the UTEM option per customers’ request. However the entry point is afemtosecond (fs) laser used to pulse electron emission from a photocathode, which presents its own set of barriers to progress: mandatary laser expertise to maintain the laser operation, complete alteration of the electron gun, possible laser heating damage, and a sampling rate much less than 100 MHz sometimes only ~0.1 MHz.