| AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| In-Situ Spectroscopy and Microscopy Focus Topic | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session IS+AS+MC+SS-TuA |
| Session: | Environmental Electron Microscopies |
| Presenter: | Christopher Brown, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) |
| Authors: | C.M. Brown, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) A. Yulaev, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) A. Kolmakov, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The ability to conduct nanoscale imaging of fluid hydrated dynamic systems is a long sought goal within the scientific community. While improvement of commercial instrumentation and environmental cells has enabled in situ imaging of fluid hydrated systems using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) at the nanoscale, additional opportunities exist in implementing in situ techniques within scanning electron microscopy (SEM) instruments equipped with fluidic cells. Factors that motivate this work include: ubiquity and reduced cost of SEM instrumentation compared to TEM, drastically reduced restrictions on the sample size, and greater flexibility of systems and detectors designed for the SEM compared to TEM.
In this communication we report on development of the microfluidic environmental cell designed for in situ studies of fully hydrated dynamic objects. We describe strategies and experimental results that enable improved in situ imaging using the SEM, including development of electron transparent graphene windowed devices that increase signal-to-noise ratio of images of fluid hydrated objects. Limiting factors of in situ imaging of hydrated samples within the SEM are discussed including radiolysis and decreased electron beam penetration into liquid cells compared to higher acceleration voltage electron microscopy modalities.