Electron microscopy methods for space-, energy-, and time-resolved plasmonics

Nanoscale plasmonic systems combine the advantages of optical frequencies with those of small spatial scales, circumventing the limitations of conventional photonic systems by exploiting the strong field confinement of surface plasmons. As a result of this miniaturization to the nanoscale, electron microscopy techniques are the natural investigative methods of choice. Recent years have seen the development of a number of electron microscopy techniques that combine the use of electrons and photons to enable unprecedented views of surface plasmons in terms of combined spatial, energy, and time resolution. This review aims to provide a comparative survey of these different approaches from an experimental viewpoint by outlining their respective experimental domains of suitability and highlighting their complementary strengths and limitations as applied to plasmonics in particular.