Making microscopy more sustainable

You work with electron microscopes – how do they differ from the light microscopes that people might be more familiar with?
Light microscopes allow us to see small things like the insides of cells in biological tissues. They are very useful, but these microscopes are limited by the wavelength of light. We use electron microscopes to look at even smaller things, such as atoms and crystals. We do that using beams of electrons, which act as waves but their wavelength is much smaller, meaning we can capture images of incredibly tiny structures.
Your research looks to improve this ‘ultramicroscopy’, how do you do that?
We analyse how electron microscopes work, and we develop equipment and methods to optimise them. This can make existing electron microscopes more powerful, efficient, or it can extend their useful lives, which is a more sustainable option than buying a new one.
You recently published a paper in the journal Science about one of those methods, what was that about?
We developed a method to reduce the levels of damage that the electron beam causes as it scans a sample. So someone might want to examine a specimen, such as a drug or a battery component or a catalyst. You don’t want the electron beam to damage the specimen as it builds up the image, as that could lead to misleading results. With our collaborators, our team has figured out an approach called event-responsive microscopy to reduce the “dwell time”, or the amount of interactions between the electron beam and the sample, and still get useful results.
So fewer interactions mean less risk of damage to the sample?
Yes, I sometimes use the analogy of measuring rainfall. You could put a beaker of water out in the garden to collect lots of rain, or in this case electrons, to get the information about how much rain is falling in an hour. Or you could just stick your hand out the window for a few seconds and quickly work out whether the rain is heavy or light. You can get useful information with a lot less exposure time and interaction.
How are you putting your research findings to practical use?
We have spun out a company from Trinity called turboTEM and, together with a major microscope manufacturer, brought this to market. In the space of two years we have gone from the idea to developing the method and manufacturing the equipment, so it is now in use on microscopes.
Is your work more about the theory or the technical side?
Both. I am in the School of Physics, but somewhere else my lab would fit into an engineering department. We make a lot of things, it’s very hands-on and technical.
Tell us something surprising about what you do.
I remember years ago sitting at an electron microscope looking at some atoms of gold. What struck me was that the image was black and white. There is no colour at that level, because the wavelengths of colour are much larger.
And what do you do when you are not improving microscopes?
I don’t get a lot of spare time and there is a bit of travel involved in my work, but family is the most important thing. My wife Mayra works part-time with the company, and our two kids are a real motivation to do the work, we want to create technology that can improve their world in the future.