Author: Mengkun Tian

New FIB-SEM

A new focus ion beam (FIB) from Thermo Scientific will be installed in MCF. This FIB, Helios 5 CX dualbeam ,  is to replace the old Nova 200 FIB-SEM which is removed from campus.

This new FIB will be equipped with highly automated, multisite, fastest and easiest sample preparation for S/TEM.
Extreme high resolution (1nm) at low acceleration voltage 1kV can be achieved in SEM mode.
Acceleration voltage for SEM is 200V-30kV.
Acceleration voltage for ion beam is 500V-30kV.

For more information with regards to training or use of this facility, please contact Mengkun Tian.

Helios 5 CX DualBeam for Materials Science

 

In situ heating holder has been installed in Hitachi HD2700

We recently purchased an in situ heating holder from Hitachi and installed it in the aberration corrected STEM Hitachi HD2700. The heating temperature can increase up to 1200C. The in situ heating experiments performed in the aberration corrected STEM can allow you to directly observe the phase transformation, nanoparticle crystallization and growth, atomic cluster or single atom rippening, phase segregation, elemental homogenization, and many others at atomic scale. Currently we hold two types of heating chips w/ or w/o hole in thin SiNx membrane. But the hitachi company offer many selections of heating chips available to buy in small quantity i.e. 5/pk.

If you need to know anything more about the heating experiment or training in the STEM, please contact Mengkun Tian.