Transmission Electron Microscopes

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) enables characterization of powders and thin films (which can be prepared in a target preparation from bulk materials) by direct imaging with up to atomic resolution. The image information can be locally correlated with spectroscopic techniques (EELS/EFTEM and EDX) to provide semi-quantitative elemental composition/maps with atomic resolution. All of these techniques can also be performed in-situ, e.g. during heating, electrical biasing or straining to directly correlate structural changes and materials properties. For complex three-dimensional structures, electron tomography can be used to generate a 3D representation of the material with a spatial resolution of ~1 nm.