Electron Ptychography Takes a Leap Forward: Cornell and MIT Researchers Multislice Their Way toward Widespread Adoption

Abstract Electron ptychography is rapidly transforming from a specialized computational method into a mainstream imaging tool with the potential to redefine atomic-scale microscopy. By solving the complex multiple-scattering process to decouple illumination from specimen interaction, multislice electron ptychography (MEP) surpasses conventional resolution limits while providing dose-efficient, three-dimensional structural and field information from a single 4D-STEM dataset. Once limited to a handful of expert groups, the technique has now reached a turning point, enabled by fast reconstruction algorithms, high-dynamic-range detectors, and community-driven development initiatives that make sub-angstrom, depth-resolved imaging possible on widely available instrumentation. This article summarizes the inaugural Cornell–MIT electron ptychography workshop, held in July 2025, which brought together thirty researchers from around the world for an immersive week of lectures, hands-on data acquisition, and real-time 3D reconstruction. The event showcased how MEP can now be performed in hours rather than days, even on consumer-grade laptops, and how it reveals unprecedented insight into defects, interfaces, and beam-sensitive materials. By distilling both the scientific breakthroughs and the educational experiences of the workshop, this summary aims to broaden awareness of electron ptychography’s growing accessibility and its potential to impact diverse fields, from currently relevant energy, quantum, and magnetic materials through next-generation semiconductor devices and even challenging soft materials in the life sciences domain. The workshop lectures, practical guides, and example datasets have been made freely available to the public and are linked in the supplementary materials section of this article.