Time-resolved holographic diffraction at atomic resolution

This article proposes a new way to obtain the diffraction patterns of well oriented molecules at atomic resolution. The method bridges internal source holography, X-ray crystallography and gas phase electron diffraction. It can accurately recover the scatterer in three spatial dimensions. Using pump–probe techniques, it is capable of simultaneous femtosecond time resolution and Ångström spatial resolution in three dimensions. It can be implemented using existing sources of short pulses of monochromatic electrons or X-rays. It is applicable to the measurement of surface and bulk chemical reactions. The possibility of elucidating enzymatic reactions in macromolecules is of particular interest.