Electron differential microscopy using an electron trapezoidal prism

The new technique of electron differential interferometry and microscopy which is free from the effect of distorted reference waves has been achieved using an electron trapezoidal prism. This new prism, which replaces an electron biprism, makes a hologram with the object wave inclined and the reference wave perpendicular to the image plane. A differential interferogram can be produced from one double-exposed hologram while retaining the advantages of conventional off-axis electron holography, i.e. resolution and sensitivity. A differential phase image from two independently recorded holograms can also be easily achieved.The performance of this technique is shown by reconstructing the electrostatic potential around a charged polystyrene latex particle.