We present a theory and a simulation of thermal diffuse scattering due to the excitation of magnons in scanning transmission electron microscopy. The calculations indicate that magnons can present atomic contrast when detected by electron energy-loss spectroscopy using atomic-size electron beams. The results presented here indicate that the intensity of the magnon diffuse scattering in bcc iron at 300~K is 4 orders of magnitude weaker than the intensity of thermal diffuse scattering arising from atomic vibrations. In an energy range where the phonon and magnon dispersions do not overlap, a monochromated scanning transmission electron microscope equipped with direct electron detectors for spectroscopy is expected to resolve the magnon spectral signatures.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology（卡尔斯鲁厄理工学院）；Jiangsu University（江苏大学）；Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH（于利希研究中心有限公司）；Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz（美因茨约翰内斯·古腾堡大学）
Paramagnetic half-moon shaped diffuse scattering arising from 3D magnetic frustration
ETH Zürich（苏黎世联邦理工学院）；A*STAR Quantum Innovation Centre (Q.InC), Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR)（新加坡科技研究局材料研究与工程研究所量子创新中心）
