The application of graphene as a sample support in transmission electron microscopy

Transmission electron microscopy has witnessed rampant development and surging point resolution over the past few years. The improved imaging performance of modern electron microscopes shifts the bottleneck for image contrast and resolution to sample preparation. Hence, it is increasingly being realized that the full potential of electron microscopy will only be realized with the optimization of current sample preparation techniques. Perhaps the most recognized issues are background signal and noise contributed by sample supports, sample charging and instability. Graphene provides supports of single atom thickness, extreme physical stability, periodic structure, and ballistic electrical conductivity. As an increasing number of applications adapting graphene to their benefit emerge, we discuss the unique capabilities afforded by the use of graphene as a sample support for electron microscopy.

► Nano-material and biological samples are limited by additional background signal from supports.
► Graphene TEM supports are transparent to a resolution of 2.13 Å with minimal background noise.
► Graphene can significantly improve stability of frozen-hydrated samples by dissipating charge.
► A 150% increase in SNR is demonstrated for unstained, frozen-hydrated TMV prepared across grapheme.
► Improved SNR allows detection of single-atom vacancies, topological defects and atomic structure.