Control imaging methods in advanced ultrafast electron microscopy

1. A microscope system comprising:

a microscope column;

an electron beam path disposed within the microscope column, wherein the electron beam path impinges on a specimen disposed in the microscope column;

a laser beam path operable to support a laser beam and disposed both external to and within the microscope column, wherein the laser beam path impinges on the specimen;

a beam splitter disposed along the laser beam path and operable to split the laser beam into a specimen path and a detection path;

a set of mirrors disposed along the detection path and optically coupled to the beam splitter, wherein the set of mirrors are oriented perpendicular to each other;

a turning mirror disposed along the detection path and optically coupled to a second mirror of the set of mirrors; and

a detector optically coupled to the turning mirror.

2. The microscope system of claim 1 wherein the beam splitter comprises an uncoated fused silica element.

3. The microscope system of claim 1 wherein the set of mirrors and the turning mirror comprise fused silica elements having a thickness greater than a thickness of the beam splitter.

4. The microscope system of claim 1 wherein the beam splitter is oriented with an angle of incidence of about 45°.

5. The microscope system of claim 1 wherein:

the beam splitter and the turning mirror are operable to provide a first polarization reflection; and

the set of mirrors are operable to provide a second polarization reflection orthogonal to the first polarization reflection.

6. The microscope system of claim 1 wherein the specimen path and the detection path are characterized by an equal optical path length.

7. A microscope system comprising:

a microscope column;

a laser system operable to provide a laser beam;

an electron beam path disposed within the microscope column;

a window disposed in the microscope column;

a laser beam path disposed within the microscope column, wherein both the electron beam path and the laser beam path impinge on a specimen disposed in the microscope column at a predetermined position;

an optical system mounted in a fixed relationship to the window, wherein the optical system comprises:

a beam splitter operable to receive the laser beam, pass a first portion of the laser beam to the laser beam path, and pass a second portion of the laser beam along a detection path;

a set of mirrors disposed along the detection path and operable to receive the second portion of the laser beam;

a turning mirror disposed along the detection path and coupled to the set of mirrors; and

a detector, wherein the detection path impinges on the detector at a second predetermined position correlated to the predetermined position.

8. The microscope system of claim 7 wherein the second predetermined position is a surrogate of the predetermined position.

9. The microscope system of claim 7 wherein the second portion comprises an attenuation signal compared to the first portion.

10. The microscope system of claim 7 wherein the optical system provides for polarization compensation.

11. The microscope system of claim 7 wherein an optical path length from the beam splitter to the specimen is equal to an optical path length from the beam splitter to the detector.

12. A method of imaging a specimen, the method comprising:

providing a stage assembly configured to support the specimen;

generating a first train of optical pulses from a first laser source;

directing the first train of optical pulses along an optical path to impinge on a cathode;

generating a train of electron pulses in response to the first train of optical pulses impinging on the cathode;

directing the train of electron pulses along an imaging path to impinge on the specimen;

generating a second train of optical pulses from a second laser source;

splitting the second train of optical pulses into a specimen path and a detection path, wherein the specimen path and the detection path have equal optical path lengths;

directing the optical pulses in the specimen path to impinge on the specimen;

directing the optical pulses in the detection path to impinge on a detector after reflection from a set of mirrors and a turning mirror; and

detecting at least a portion of the train of electron pulses passing through the specimen.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising blocking the optical pulses in the specimen path while concurrently directing the optical pulses in the detection path to impinge on the detector.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the detector is operable to measure a polarization of the optical pulses in the detection path.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the detection path comprises polarization compensating optical elements.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein a fluence of the optical pulses in the detection path is less than a fluence of the optical pulses in the specimen path.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the first laser source and the second laser source are a same laser source.