High-resolution Electron Microscope

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) is invaluable technique to study nanoscale properties of crystalline materials. The high-resolution transmission electron microscope TITAN CUBED 80-300 has been set on work at the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.. Instead of beam of light, a beam of electrons is used to "illuminate" the investigated sample. Microscope is build of vertical column, on top of which the electron gun is placed. Below the gun is the system forming electron beam composed of monochromator and electrostatic and electromagnetic lenses. After passing through the sample, the transmitted electron beam comes through the system of lenses which form a sample's image magnified millions times. The investigated sample should be very thin (its thickness should not exceed 1 micron) so special techniques of its preparation must be used. At present, sample preparation takes us about one week (with standard techniques).

The new microscope is additionally equipped with electron energy losses spectrometer and gives possibility of holographic imaging and investigation in liquid nitrogen temperatures. The facility has electronic optics of very high quality, very stable accelerating voltage and very sensitive image detectors. Unique qualities of the microscope allows to follow processes undergoing in investigated sample, for example when its temperature changes.