UCLA Researchers Develop New 3D Atomic Mapping Techniques

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Researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have published a new framework for determining the three-dimensional positions and elemental identities of atoms in amorphous materials like glass. Using rigorously simulated electron microscope data, the team demonstrated 100% accuracy in mapping the 3D positions of silicon and oxygen atoms in amorphous silica, the primary component of glass, with precision down to seven trillionths of a meter under favorable imaging conditions.

Why it matters

Unlocking the 3D atomic structure of amorphous materials like glass is expected to drive technological innovation and new scientific insights. Glass is one of the most ubiquitous and useful materials on the planet, and emerging technologies for electronics, solar cells, memory, medical devices, and quantum computing often rely on amorphous materials. The new techniques could also enable 3D imaging of the carbon and nitrogen atoms essential to life.

The details

The study focused on two computational microscopy techniques developed by UCLA professor Jianwei "John" Miao: atomic electron tomography (AET), which uses many angled images to reconstruct a 3D atomic map, and ptychography, which computationally reconstructs images from patterns of scattered electrons. The researchers used rigorously simulated AET and ptychographic data to test their algorithms, which had to contend with sources of error like image noise, focus variations, and atomic vibrations. The computation also leveraged known constraints like atom types and typical interatomic distances to refine the final 3D atomic maps.

• The study was published on January 29, 2026.