A Year of Growth and Impact
In its first year of operation, the QNFCF TEM has already made a significant impact:
- 22 users have been trained to use the JEOL F200 TEM, aided by comprehensive training and standard operating procedures for the many techniques available.
- Over 725 hours of instrument operation have been used for research.
- Approximately 274 samples have been characterized using the TEM, including nanoparticles, semiconductors lamella prepared via FIB, and mechanically prepared wedge/dimple material samples.
- One research paper has already been published showcasing data collected from the TEM:
- Islam, R., Shi, Y., de Oliveira Silva, G. V., Sachdev, M., & Miao, G.-X. (2024). Volatile and nonvolatile programmable Iontronic memristor with lithium imbued tiox for neuromorphic computing applications. ACS Nano, 18(33), 22045–22054. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c05137
A Successful TEM Open House
The TQT and QNFCF recently held a successful TEM Open House event to celebrate the first year of operation for the JEOL F200 Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (S/TEM). The Open House showcased the advanced S/TEM capabilities accessible to the QNFCF and UWaterloo community. The event drew over 90 attendees, highlighting the growing interest in and demand for advanced microscopy techniques.
The day included a variety of engaging activities, starting with opening remarks by Dr. Chris Houser (Dean, Faculty of Science) and presentations from experts at QNFCF, JEOL, and Gatan, highlighting the latest advancements in TEM and FIB-SEM technologies. Speakers included QNFCF staff (Nicki Shaw and Greg Holloway), and industry representatives from JEOL (Patrick Phillips and Kevin Mcilwrath) and Gatan (Stephen Mick and Andrew Thron). Attendees also participated in tours of the facility's state-of-the-art equipment including the FIBSEM, TEM, and Sample Prep laboratories, followed by interactive live sessions demonstrating real-time TEM characterization of catalytic nanoparticles, and semiconductors.
A summary of the topics discussed during the presentations portion is outlined below:
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High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM)
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Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM)
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Diffraction: Selected Area Diffraction (SAD), Nanodiffaction, Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction (CBED)
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Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) for elemental mapping, characterisation of band gaps etc.
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4D STEM for strain mapping, Differential Phase Contrast microscopy, Ptychography etc.
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In-situ TEM
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Tomography
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TEM Cameras: CCD, CMOS, and Direct Electron Detectors.
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Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIBSEM) with applications for TEM sample prep, cross-section Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and lithography.
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High-performance FIBSEM and techniques for air isolation of lamellae.
The QNFCF remains dedicated to providing the UW community with access to cutting-edge microscopy tools and expertise. To learn more about our facility and capabilities, please visit the QNFCF website.
The TEM Open House event was sponsored by JEOL.
