in situ NanoProcesses

FEI’s environmental microscopes, the Titan™ ETEM and the Quanta™ systems using ESEM mode provide the ultimate basis for dynamic observations of physical and chemical phenomena at the nanometer scale. Each is capable of maintaining a gaseous environment in the region of the sample, in addition to thermal control, giving the conditions needed for carrying out real in situ experiments for exploring structure-property-function relationships.

The Titan ETEM (environmental transmission electron microscope) is one of the latest additions to the Titan platform, with the option of a corrector for spherical aberration and/or a monochromator, for in situ capabilities at the atomic scale. Example experiments include:

Observation of catalyst activity at elevated temperatures and pressures

• Initiation and following of chemical reactions
• Fabrication of new nanomaterials over a wide range of conditions
• Direct studies of phase transitions and transformations

The Quanta scanning electron microscope and Quanta 3D DualBeam enable precise control over experimental parameters and specimen chamber environment, allow you to record movies (.avi) of in-chamber dynamic experiments for subsequent study. This enables real-time observation of material property changes and compositional analysis for materials characterization. Examples of dynamic experiments using specialized stages in the Quanta systems include: 

• Humidity cycling and in situ wetting, swelling, crystallization, melting and corrosion
• Tensile tests for in situ deformation and failure
• Thermal cycling and in situ heating and cooling