STEM_HD1

 

DESCRIPTION:

The equipment allows the morphological characterization at micro- and nanometric level for a large range of nanomaterials and micro/nanocomponents of various devices. The system is equipped with scattered electrons (SE), Z contrast (ZC) and transmission electrons (TE) detectors, able to perform at ultra-high level resolution (0.5 nm – SEM mode and 0.14 nm – STEM mode) at the same location of the specimen.

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) equipped with real time EDX (Energy Dispersive X ray) with Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) and electron diffraction analytical techniques.

 

Nano-diffraction

For studying the structure of nanoparticles as a function of their size requires a correlation between the image and the diffraction pattern of single nanoparticles. Nano-beam diffraction technique is able to identify the crystalline structure at nanometer level, even when nanoparticles are randomly oriented on an amorphous substrate.

STEM1

Nano-diffraction pattern of single crystal gold nanoparticle.

Energy Dispersive X-ray – EDX

EDX is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chemical characterization of a sample. The equipment is provided with one of largest Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) available on the market with an area of 150 mm2 for advanced nano-analysis and delivers more than double the speed of any other detector.

Benefits of the SDD include:

  1. High count rates and processing
  2. Better resolution than traditional Si(Li) detectors at high count rates
  3. Lower dead time (time spent on processing X-ray event)
  4. Faster analytical capabilities and more precise X-ray maps or particle data collected in seconds
  5. Ability to operate at relatively high temperatures, eliminating the need for liquid nitrogen cooling