“Seeing” Individual Atoms in 3D: Atomic Electron Tomography

Have you ever seen atoms in 3D? Atoms are the basic building blocks of materials, and scientists have been actively seeking ways to “see” the 3-dimensional positions of atoms, i.e., where the atoms are located within materials. With the development of powerful modern transmission electron microscopy technology and advanced reconstruction algorithms, it became possible to really observe the individual atoms in 3D. In this paper, we will review the recent progress of the technique “atomic electron tomography”, which allowed the 3D atomic structural determination of complex nanomaterials.