- Accepted Paper
Quantum algorithm framework for phase-contrast transmission electron microscopy image simulation
APS Open Sci. - Accepted 3 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/q66t-dmrf
APS Open Sci. - Accepted 3 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/q66t-dmrf
We present a quantum algorithmic framework for simulating phase-contrast transmission electron microscopy (CTEM) image formation using a fault-tolerant, gate-based quantum circuit model. The electron wavefield on an N ×N grid is amplitude-encoded into a 2log2 N-qubit register. Free-space propagation and objective-lens aberrations are implemented via two-dimensional quantum Fourier transforms (QFTs) and diagonal phase operators in reciprocal space, while specimen interaction is modeled under the phase-object approximation (POA) in a single-slice multislice formula- tion as a position-dependent phase grating. We validate projected potentials, contrast transfer function (CTF) behavior, and image contrast trends against classical multislice simulations for MoS2 over experimentally relevant parameters, and provide resource estimates and key assumptions that determine end-to-end runtime. While extracting complete N×N intensity images requires O(N2/ε2) measurements that preclude advantage for full-image reconstruction, the framework enables quantum advantage for tasks requiring Fourier-space queries, global image statistics, or phase- coherent observables inaccessible to classical intensity-only detection. This framework provides a physics-grounded mapping from CTEM theory to quantum circuits and establishes a baseline for extending toward full multislice and inelastic scattering models.
If the author has provided any supplemental materials with this article they will be available upon publication of the version of record.