Invited Paper MM+AS+NS+PC-MoM3
Cantilever Substrates for Quantitative Growth Experiments in the Environmental Transmission Electron Microscope

Monday, October 22, 2018, 9:00 am, Room 202B

Environmental TEM is an excellent tool for obtaining quantitative information on growth processes and materials transformations. However, it is essential to measure the local temperature, pressure, and other key conditions at the sample location. Well controlled and accurately calibrated in situ experiments often make use of specially designed samples and involve various methods for direct measurement of the reaction parameters. Here we describe some of these strategies, but focus on one particular sample design which we suggest is well suited for experiments addressing chemical vapor deposition. In this sample design, growth takes place at the tip of a hairpin cantilever microfabricated from single crystal silicon and heated by direct current. Epitaxial growth is possible on the cantilever surfaces, and deposition on materials such as amorphous silicon nitride is achieved by first coating the cantilever. We discuss how the local temperature and pressure can be measured by monitoring a calibrated growth process. We also discuss how growth can be examined under more complex environments, such as electric fields, using designs involving multiple cantilevers and actuators. We finally discuss approaches to higher pressure than is possible in conventional ETEM by integrating cantilevers in a closed gas cell. Custom substrates based on microfabricated designs appear poised to expand the possibilities of quantitative in situ growth experiments to exciting new regimes and materials systems.