Electron Optic Documents

The applications for lithium ion batteries (LIB) cover a wide range, from power sources for personal computers and mobile devices to automobiles, and there is always a demand for even better performance and safety. In order to ensure the performance and quality of LIB, analysis and evaluation using high-performance assessment systems is necessary. JEOL offers a full line-up of equipment to support the development of new LIB technologies and to improve product quality, including instruments for morphology observation and surface analysis, chemical analysis systems to perform structural analysis on a molecular level, as well as fabrication systems to create high-performance coatings and powders. This LIB note offers solutions for researchers and engineers who are looking for the best equipment for their application.

Data set for observing ferromagnetic samples. The mode has no magnetic field around samples.

Our new generation of low vacuum secondary electron detector (LVSED) provides enhanced performance at fast scan speeds and even greater collection efficiency. Why choose LVSED imaging over backscattered electron (BSE)? Considering electron-beam sample interaction, SE imaging can provide better overall spatial resolution as well as the ability to observe fine topographic detail when compared to BSE imaging. This is especially true when imaging low Z materials where interaction volumes can be high with BSE imaging.

Luminary Micro is a Compact Specimen Photoexcitation System (CPXS) for JEOL TEMs. It is composed of a modulated laser, a compact optical delivery system, an inlet port, and a mirror. With this add-on, users can direct and focus the laser output onto the TEM sample in situ. Luminary Micro can induce a rich variety of reactions and dynamic processes in the specimen, thanks to its <40 μm FWHM focus size, adjustable peak power up to 3 W, and the modulated pulse widths ranging from a few microseconds to seconds. With Luminary Micro, users can study laser-induced phenomena in situ using fast cameras. Combined with IDES/JEOL EDM fast shutter and/or Relativity subframing systems, Luminary Micro allows users to perform time-resolved studies using pump-probe methods in the microsecond time scale. The extremely compact footprint of the system allows easy installation without affecting the TEM resolution. The user can heat specimens to thousands of degrees C while keeping the freedom to use the specimen holder of your choice.

The SHL is a newly designed objective lens for high-resolution observation at low accelerating voltages. Unlike the semi-in lens SEM, with a large electromagnetic field below the lens, which was widely used for high-resolution, low kV observation, the SHL achieves high resolution by superimposing a magnetic field onto the electrostatic field to suppress magnetic field leakage. Therefore, the SHL is suitable for the high resolution observation of magnetic materials and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) even at short WD, which were difficult with the semi-in lens type SEMs. The SHL type SEM can also be configured for low vacuum operation while the semi-in lens type cannot.

Using Minimal Fringe Illumination and Coma-Free Image Shift an unprecedented throughput is possible on a JEOL CRYO ARM™. Given that a typical structure as published on EMPIAR requires 4-5000 images, the potential therefore exists of solving roughly 4-5 structures per day using a JEOL CRYO ARM™.

STEM-in-SEM (Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy in an SEM) has become a popular technique for biologists, polymer scientists and materials scientists for its ease of use, cost effectiveness and high resolution. It is especially suited to investigation of the internal structure of thin film (50-100nm) samples as well as size and shape of submicron to nanometer particles. With standard SEM imaging modes and EDS analysis on bulk samples, there are limitations in the ultimate resolution that can be achieved due in part to the beam-sample interactions. With STEM-in-SEM, the sample is very thin and the interaction volume is greatly reduced, which allows for sub-nanometer resolution and nanoscale analysis. One of the main challenges to EDS analysis using STEM-in-SEM is how to reduce the hard X-ray contribution from the detector and chamber (generally peaks from Al and Si). JEOL has designed a dedicated Analytical holder with a carbon retainer that greatly reduces these spurious peaks allowing for more accurate analytical data.

The ability to increase the probe current for fast microanalysis, while still maintaining a small spot size and small volume of excitation for high resolution, has been the holy grail of microanalysis in SEM. One of the unique features of JEOL’s FE SEMs is the patented Aperture Angle Control Lens (ACL). This lens automatically optimizes for both high resolution imaging at low probe currents and high spatial resolution X-ray analysis at high probe currents with a seamless transition between the two. This is essential for rapid analysis and superb image quality and is particularly true for low kV microanalysis. The ACL works by considering effects of all aberrations (spherical, chromatic and diffraction limitations) on spot size and automatically optimizing the convergence angle.

OBF System - Live Low Dose, Light Element Imaging

Wet specimens are notoriously difficult to image in scanning electron microscopes (SEM) owing to evaporation from the required vacuum of the specimen chamber. Traditionally, this issue has been addressed by increasing the specimen chamber pressure. Unfortunately, observation under high specimen chamber pressure cannot prevent the initial evaporation effects. The wet cover method, where the original surface water is retained (and, therefore, considered wet), provides a way to introduce and subsequently image specimens that are sensitive to evaporation within a SEM, while preventing evaporation-related damage, and to observe interesting specimen–water interactions.