The banner art for the User Meeting is a collage of simulated electron diffraction patterns of small nanoparticles of gold (Au) atop one or several layers of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a two-dimensional semiconducting material. The patterns were generated by first creating a virtual crystal that resembles a physical sample, projecting a potential wave through it, and solving the Schrödinger wave equation using the multislice algorithm. This algorithm can predict the scattering behavior of an electron beam when it interacts with a material, effectively conducting a virtual electron microscopy experiment.
Comparing simulations like these to real experimental data allows researchers to study the interface of 2D semiconductors and metal contacts and potentially control the electronic properties of these materials at the nanoscale.
This art was created by Foundry user Clarissa Bhargava (UC Berkeley) in collaboration with Foundry staff scientist Colin Ophus at the National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM).