Correlating a material's atomic-scale structure to its functionality is central to our understanding of the physical and chemical world, and hence to most technological development. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) now dominates high resolution materials characterisation in the physical sciences, routinely revealing structural details that are otherwise indiscernible. It excels in the analysis of aperiodic structures including defects, inhomogeneities and interfaces that are below the resolution of other microscopies and cannot be studied using diffraction. These structures are important because they often dominate a material's properties, for better or worse. Atomic-scale resolution also underpins the development of devices, which may now contain features of only a few tens of atoms in dimension, often to harness quantum effects that can only be controlled on the nanoscale. Frustratingly, many materials remain inaccessible to atomic resolution STEM. One example is that the magnetic fields used to focus a STEM instrument interfere with magnetic samples, so that their intrinsic behaviour cannot be studied. We propose to capitalise on our expertise to address this problem. First, we will exploit improved electron lens designs to provide a three-fold improvement in 'field-free' imaging resolution. We will be able to visualise a sample's own electromagnetic fields on the atomic scale, facilitating novel studies of magnetic, quantum, microelectronic and plasmonic technologies alongside geological and chemical samples with nano-magnetic properties. An improved sensitivity to magnetic structure will enable the analysis of challenging samples such as synthetic antiferromagnets and low moment materials, which are of technological importance. We will also enhance time resolution and sensitivity by integrating the latest noise-free electron detectors for imaging and spectroscopy, providing enhanced capabilities for high-speed, high sensitivity analysis, particularly of delicate, beam-sensitive materials. We have been at the forefront of development in both of these areas and are exceptionally well-placed to grow an acknowledged UK research strength.

In science more than anywhere, seeing is believing. Since Galileo time and his invention of the telescope, Hook and van Leeuwenhoek and their contribution into developing the first optical microscope, scientists have always had the necessity to see objects whether these were living or not. Since these pioneering times, we have now been given a great collection of tools that allow the visualisation of matter almost imaging molecule by molecule. Transmission electron microscopy is possibly the most powerful and versatile of these tools and indeed contributed to a myriad of scientific discoveries across Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Medicine. Today, although the ultimate frontier of imaging is the ability to visualise matter when dispersed in a liquid and how this very unique environment affects molecular organisation. Among these liquid environment, water is the most critical as being the most important ingredient of life. Yet to date, no electron microscopy can be performed in a liquid sample as its functioning is associated with high vacuum conditions and hence no liquid can exist. However we have now created new materials that act as transparent holders of liquid samples to place them under an electron beam and thus image their content. This can indeed create a unique imaging platform that will allow the imaging of a large plethora of materials (including biologicals) in water (or any other liquid) without the need to remove the liquid and hence observe their structure and dynamic nature in its own environment. Moreover we propose here to exploit the liquid nature of the sample to create a combined approach where liquid samples can easily be injected into an integrated unit that will image them with resolution approaching ten times the size of the same water molecules as well as to analyse important changes such as size, structure, optical properties and chemical nature.