doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2022.113564engHettler, S.Arenal, R.Aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy with Zernike phase platesART-2022-129586We explore the possibility of applying physical phase plates (PPs) in combination with aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Phase-contrast transfer characteristics are calculated and compared for a thin-film based Zernike PP, a hole-free (HF) or Volta PP and an electrostatic Zach PP, considering their phase-shifting properties in combination with partial spatial coherence. The effect of slightly converging illumination conditions, often used in high-resolution applications, on imaging with PPs is discussed. Experiments with an unheated Zernike PP applied to various nanomaterial specimens and a qualitative analysis clearly demonstrates the general compatibility of PPs and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Calculations and experiments show the benefits of the approach, among which is a strong phase-contrast enhancement of a large range of spatial frequencies. This allows the simultaneous imaging of atomic-resolution structures and morphological features at the nanometer scale, with maximum phase contrast. The calculations can explain why the HFPP damps contrast transfer at higher spatial frequencies. © 2022 The Author(s)2022http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/11819710.1016/j.ultramic.2022.113564http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/118197oai:zaguan.unizar.es:118197info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/E13-20Rinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/823717/EU/Enabling Science and Technology through European Electron Microscopy/ESTEEM3This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 823717-ESTEEM3info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/881603/EU/Graphene Flagship Core Project 3/GrapheneCore3This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 881603-GrapheneCore3info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/889546/EU/Properties of nanomaterials made from misfit-layered compounds revealed by electron microscopy and simulations/PROMISESThis project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 889546-PROMISESinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO-AEI-FEDER/PID2019-104739GB-I00-AEI-10.13039-501100011033Ultramicroscopy 239 (2022), 113564 [9 pp]by-nc-ndhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess