In situ correction of the spherical aberration in a double-toroidal electron analyzer.

In an energy-dispersive electron spectrometer, the electrons with the same kinetic energy but different polar angles fly along different paths and impinge upon the detector at different locations. This behavior materializes the spherical aberration of the electron optics, which deteriorates the focussing quality on the detector, and thus the energy resolution of the instrument. Here, we demonstrate that, in general, the electron time of flight changes monotonically as a function of the polar angle. Combining the impact position on the detector and the time of flight of electrons, the spherical aberration can be corrected and the energy resolution can be significantly improved, 1.5× in the case of our double toroidal analyser. This correction method has a general applicability and can be of interest to experimentalists willing to push further the performances of their electron spectrometers when the time of flight is available.