0.23 eV energy resolution obtained using a cold field-emission gun and a streak imaging technique.

We demonstrate that a high energy resolution of 0.23 eV is possible by using a cold field-emission electron gun (CFEG) without a monochromator. We have used a 300 kV transmission electron microscope (Hitachi, HF-3000) equipped with a CFEG and an energy filter (Gatan, GIF2002). Since energy instability is critical for high energy resolution in electron energy-loss spectroscopy, we have applied a high-speed 'streak imaging' acquisition technique, in which a series of time-resolved spectra are acquired as a two-dimensional spectrum. With this technique, we can easily record 1000-20,000 spectra with an exposure time of 0.353 ms per spectrum. Instability of less than 1.4 kHz has been corrected in the time-resolved spectra, allowing the inherent performance of the CFEG to be realized.