FEI Extends Capabilities for In Situ Electron Microscopy
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FEI has extended its capabilities for in situ electron microscopy, allowing materials scientists and engineers to observe changes in morphology and dynamic properties – in real time – as the sample interacts with in situ stimuli and environments at the micro-, nano-, and even atomic-scale.
“We have expanded our NanoEx™ family as a result of the growing need for in situ electron microscopy experiments,” states Joerg Jinschek, product marketing manager, FEI. “In order to obtain increased insight into material properties, their structure and performance must be characterized and quantified using methods that go beyond static imaging. The NanoEx holders enable scientists to observe the response of materials under mechanical, electrical and thermal stimuli, as well as under a variety of environmental conditions that mimic the actual use case.”
The NanoEx family now includes:
• NanoEx i/v – heating solution using MEMS-based nanoheaters for reproducible temperature control and uniform temperature distribution;
• NanoEx 3D Indenter – nanoindentation solution for mechanical strain, hardness, and tribological measurements;
• NanoEx 3D STM/EP – electric nanoprobing solution for measurements of contact current, bias, tunneling, and field emission currents, as well as displacement.
“Our NanoEx in situ holders leverage the acquired intellectual property assets of Nanofactory Instruments AB, which FEI purchased in 2013,” adds Jinschek.
Each NanoEx holder is designed to work seamlessly with FEI’s previous- and current-generation of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) platforms, such as the Tecnai™, Talos™, Titan™, and Titan Themis™, providing a new level of capabilities in in situ research, including a correlation between acquired data and applied in situ parameters.
In addition, FEI’s leading in situ solution, the Titan ETEM (environmental transmission electron microscope), now benefits from features originally launched on the Titan Themis™ TEM platform, including: precise control and knowledge of sample temperature; improved sample stability, navigation and assisted sample drift correction in x, y, and z; advanced imaging and movie acquisition functions; as well as the ability to handle and process large data sets.
