The Transmission Electron Microscopy TEM laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility equipped with a FEI Tecnai G2 F20 X-Twin transmission electron microscope and a FEI FIB200TEM Focused Ion Beam device for specimen preparation. The laboratory provides powerful techniques for characterization of crystal structure, microstructure, and chemical composition of materials down to a near atomic level. 

TEM and attachments:

• FEI Tecnai G2 F20 X-Twin (200 kV)
• FEG electron source
• HAADF Detector
• Gatan Tridiem (EELS, EFTEM)
• EDAX energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy system

TEM sample holder:

• Gatan double-tilt holder
• Single-tilt tomography holder 
• Compustage low background double-tilt holder
• Single-tilt rotation holder
• Gatan double-tilt liquid nitrogen holder
• Gatan heating holder
• Protochips Poseidon 300: 3-Port in-situ liquid flow system, liquid heating option (for Liquid Phase-(Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscope (LP-(S)TEM))

• Lightning Arctic system

Liquid Phase-(Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy (LP-(S)TEM) allows in-situ observations of the dynamic behaviour of materials in liquids, with both high spatial resolution and temporal resolution. In LP-(S)TEM, the liquid cell is mounted at the tip of a specific TEM sample holder, wherein the sample and solvent are placed in-between two electron-transparent windows. Optimal spatial resolution is obtained by minimizing the liquid thickness surrounding the sample, which is achievable by choosing suitable liquid cell spacers. In a liquid cell, the sample is analyzed by (S)TEM in its native state, hence solid/liquid interface is preserved. Nevertheless, incident electron beam irradiation in the liquid phase induces several artifacts that must be accounted for, such as changes in pH, temperature, and chemistry (radiolysis processes occur in the presence of water). To date, in-situ technique has been extensively exploited to visualize the formation processes of inorganic nanostructures and biological materials. The GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) has its own LP-(S)TEM facility (Protochips Poseidon model), the only one in Germany in a geosciences research unit.

LP-(S)TEM sample holder:

• Protochips Poseidon 300: 3-Port in-situ liquid flow system, liquid heating option