We report on the sub-electron-volt-sub-angstrom microscope (SESAM), a high-resolution 200-kV FEG-TEM equipped with a monochromator and an in-column MANDOLINE filter. We report on recent results obtained with this instrument, demonstrating its performance (e.g., 87-meV energy resolution at 10-s exposure time, or a transmissivity of the energy filter of T1 eV = 11,000 nm2). New opportunities to do unique experiments that may advance the frontiers of microscopy in areas such as energy-filtered TEM, spectroscopy, energy-filtered electron diffraction and spectroscopic profiling are also discussed.

Amorphous 1–2-nm-wide intergranular films in ceramics dictate many of their properties. The detailed investigation of structure and chemistry of these films pushes the limits of today's transmission electron microscopy. We report on the reconstruction of the one-dimensional potential profile across the film from an experimentally acquired tilt series of energy-filtered electron diffraction patterns. Along with the potential profile, the specimen thickness, film orientation with respect to the grain lattice and specimen surface, and the absolute specimen orientation with respect to the laboratory frame of reference are retrieved.