Exit wave reconstruction of a focal series of images with structural changes in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images can capture the atomic-resolution details of the dynamically changing structure of nanomaterials. Here, we propose a new scheme and an improved reconstruction algorithm to reconstruct the exit wave function for each image in a focal series of HRTEM images to reveal structural changes. In this scheme, the wave reconstructed from the focal series of images is treated as the initial wave in the reconstruction process for each HRTEM image. Additionally, to suppress noise at the frequencies where the signal is weak due to the modulation of the lens transfer function, a weight factor is introduced in the improved reconstruction algorithm. The advantages of the new scheme and algorithms are validated by using the HRTEM images of a natural specimen and a single-layer molybdenum disulphide. This algorithm enables image resolution enhancement and lens aberration removal, while potentially allowing the visualisation of the structural evolution of nanostructures.