{
  "abstract": "A phase plate has long been sought in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to maximize the image contrast of weakly-scattering objects like biomolecules. The laser phase plate (LPP) has recently demonstrated that an amplified, focused laser standing wave reliably phase shifts the electron beam, achieving phase-contrast TEM. Building on the single-beam LPP, here we introduce the crossed laser phase plate (XLPP): two laser standing waves which intersect in the diffraction plane. We present a theoretical model for the XLPP inside the microscope and show that, relative to the original LPP, it increases information transfer at low spatial frequencies while suppressing ghost images formed by Kapitza-Dirac diffraction. We also present a simple acquisition scheme, enabled by the XLPP, which further suppresses ghosts. Finally, we discuss practical considerations of XLPP design and show experimental results from a prototype. The results of this study chart the course for future developments of LPP hardware.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA",
    "Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria",
    "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA, USA",
    "Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA",
    "Biohub, Redwood City, CA, USA",
    "Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. hm@berkeley.edu",
    "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA, USA. hm@berkeley.edu"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Petar N. Petrov",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3806-534X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jessie T. Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0202-1222"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jeremy J. Axelrod",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3564-241X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Pavel K. Olshin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Holger Müller",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0636-5951"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9mvtps4d4wwnt.bib",
  "cited_by": 6,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-74060-6",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9mvtps4d4wwnt",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74060-6",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1315|Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4403573904",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74060-6_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC11527100",
  "pmid": "39483350",
  "published": "2026-06-05",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9mvtps4d4wwnt.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:48Z",
      "native_id": "W4403573904",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74060-6"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1315|Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications",
      "subfield": "structural-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Crossed laser phase plates for transmission electron microscopy",
  "title_text": "Crossed laser phase plates for transmission electron microscopy",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T13:20:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9mvtps4d4wwnt",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}