in 2018 cornell researchers built a 
high-powered detector that in combination 
with an algorithm-driven process called 
ptychography set a world record by tripling 
the resolution of a state-of-the-art electron 
microscope as successful as it was that approach 
had a weakness it only worked with ultrathin 
samples that were a few atoms thick anything 
thicker would cause the electrons to scatter 
in ways that could not be disentangled now a 
team again led by 
david muller 
the samuel beckert professor of engineering 
has bested its own 
record by a factor of two with an electron 
microscope pixel array detector empad that 
incorporates even more sophisticated 3d 
reconstruction algorithms the resolution is so 
fine-tuned the only blurring that remains is 
the thermal jiggling of the atoms themselves