A new solution to the curved Ewald sphere problem for 3D image reconstruction in electron microscopy

J P J Chen; K E Schmidt; J C H Spence; R A Kirian

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2021.113234

A new solution to the curved Ewald sphere problem for 3D image reconstruction in electron microscopy

Ultramicroscopy. 2021 May:224:113234. doi: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2021.113234. Epub 2021 Feb 21.

Authors

J P J Chen¹, K E Schmidt², J C H Spence², R A Kirian²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. Electronic address: jpchen1@mainex1.asu.edu.
² Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.

PMID: 33652237
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2021.113234

Abstract

We develop an algorithm capable of imaging a three-dimensional object given a collection of two-dimensional images of that object that are significantly influenced by the curvature of the Ewald sphere. These two-dimensional images cannot be approximated as projections of the object. Such an algorithm is useful in cryo-electron microscopy where larger samples, higher resolution, or lower energy electron beams are desired, all of which contribute to the significance of Ewald curvature.