Precision-controlled ultrafast electron microscope platforms. A case study: Multiple-order coherent phonon dynamics in 1T-TaSe$_2$ probed at 50 femtosecond - 10 femtometer scales

Abstract

We report on the first detailed beam test attesting the fundamental principle behind the development of high-current-efficiency ultrafast electron microscope systems where a radio-frequency cavity is incorporated as a condenser lens in the beam delivery system. To allow the experiment to be carried out with a sufficient resolution to probe the performance at the emittance floor, a new cascade loop RF controller system is developed to reduce the RF noise floor. Temporal resolution at 50 femtoseconds in full-width-at-half-maximum and detection sensitivity better than 1% are demonstrated on exfoliated 1T-TaSe$_2$ layers where the multi-order edge-mode coherent phonon excitation is employed as the standard candle to benchmark the performance. The high temporal resolution and the significant visibility to very low dynamical contrast in diffraction signals give strong support to the working principle of the high-brightness beam delivery via phase-space manipulation in the electron microscope system.