Elastic electron scattering at high momentum transfer: A possible new analytic tool

Recently it has become clear that for large-angle elastic scattering of keV electrons, the energy of the scattered electrons is reduced. This energy loss depends on the mass of the atom it scattered from, as well as its momentum. Hence, we can study the atomic composition of samples as well as their vibrational properties in momentum space. Here we present some examples of spectra obtained by this technique and discuss possible applications in the field of scanning electron microscopy.