Nanoscale Characterization Facility
The Nanoscale Characterization Facility supports current generation tools for electron-beam and ion-beam analyses that serve Penn and the region’s other universities and local industry. The new facility comprises eight rooms specially designed to host state-of-the-art electron microscopes, a sample preparation lab with wet chemical capabilities, a computer lab for image and data analysis, and office and meeting space for staff and industrial users. Highlights of the facility include:
Aberration-Corrected Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscope
(planned acquisition):
This represents the centerpiece of the facility. This room, with a combination of active and passive electromagnetic shielding technologies, is designed for installation of the first aberration-corrected, energy-filtered microscope (ACEM) in the greater Philadelphia area. ACEM represents the current state-of-the-art for atomic scale imaging of matter. This type of electron microscope allows for imaging of individual atoms in terms of their morphology and composition. This microscope will be equipped with a wide range of spectrometers for investigating composition and bonding environment, as well as an extensive set of in-situ samples holders for controlling temperature, strain, and electric fields while observing the sample. The room is designed to maintain the tightest possible specifications in terms of temperature, vibration, acoustics, and electromagnetic fields.
Analytical Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscope
(existing equipment):
The JEOL 2010F TEM/STEM is a state-of-the-art field emission transmission electron microscope with capabilities ranging from nanobeam and convergent beam diffraction to high-resolution phase contrast, analytical, and energy filtered imaging. The 2010F has been optimized for analytical microscopy with a large solid angle for high X-ray throughput, scanning, scanning-transmission, and backscattered electron detectors and a Gatan image filter for energy filtered imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Read More
(existing equipment):
The JEOL 2010F TEM/STEM is a state-of-the-art field emission transmission electron microscope with capabilities ranging from nanobeam and convergent beam diffraction to high-resolution phase contrast, analytical, and energy filtered imaging. The 2010F has been optimized for analytical microscopy with a large solid angle for high X-ray throughput, scanning, scanning-transmission, and backscattered electron detectors and a Gatan image filter for energy filtered imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy. This combination of analytical capabilities makes the 2010F an ideal instrument for the characterization of a wide array of samples, yet the 2010F is also a very capable high-resolution instrument for the study of nano-scale materials. The instrument is compatible with a suite of commercial and custom in-situ sample stages. The PRNF maintains a wide range of commercial and custom heating, cooling and in-situ electrical testing holders. Planned purchases of a dual axis electron tomography holder and a cryo-tomography holder will significantly advance capabilities to develop 3D reconstructions of nanomaterials and the distribution of nanomaterials in complex assemblies and in biological hosts. The recent acquisition of a Hysitron PI 95 Picoindentor greatly advances in-situ nanomechanical measurements allowing direct correlation between the application of force and the structural response of materials. Close
Conventional Transmission Electron Microscope
(existing equipment):
The JEOL 2100 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) is available for both conventional and high resolution TEM imaging. It is equipped with single tilt, double-tilt, heating and cooling sample holders for a wide range of imaging experiments. Read More
(existing equipment):
The JEOL 2100 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) is available for both conventional and high resolution TEM imaging. It is equipped with single tilt, double-tilt, heating and cooling sample holders for a wide range of imaging experiments. The analytical objective lens pole piece on this microscope allows for sample tilting up to 45 degrees, yet maintains a point-to-point resolution of 0.25 nm. In addition to the conventional plate camera, this microscope is equipped with a Gatan Peltier cooled CCD imaging system for high quality digital imaging and video streaming. Close
High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope
(existing equipment):
A JEOL 7500F cold-field emission Scanning Electron Microscope provides ultrahigh resolution of 0.8 nm at 30 kV and 1 nm at 1 kV, which is particularly useful for soft-matter studies. The JEOL 7500F SEM is our dedicated conventional and high-resolution imaging microscope. Read More
(existing equipment):
A JEOL 7500F cold-field emission Scanning Electron Microscope provides ultrahigh resolution of 0.8 nm at 30 kV and 1 nm at 1 kV, which is particularly useful for soft-matter studies. The JEOL 7500F SEM is our dedicated conventional and high-resolution imaging microscope. It is equipped with multiple detectors and imaging modes that allow for the study of a wide range of solid materials. Secondary and backscattered electron detectors allow for imaging of sample surfaces, whereas a scanning-transmission electron detector shows the internal structure of materials. Through a stage biasing system, referred to as the "gentle-beam" mode, the electron beam interacting with the sample may be reduced to a fraction of the accelerating voltage of the gun, allowing for the imaging of soft or insulating samples without the need for carbon or metal coating. Close
Environmental in-Situ Scanning Electron Microscope
(existing equipment):
A FEI Quanta 600 FEG Mark II Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope achieves 1.5 nm resolution in ESEM mode and can be operated under a range of gaseous environments from 6 x 10-4 Pa to ~1000 Pa. It is equipped with a special wet STEM detector that is ideal for the imaging of nanoparticles in biological systems. Read More
(existing equipment):
A FEI Quanta 600 FEG Mark II Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope achieves 1.5 nm resolution in ESEM mode and can be operated under a range of gaseous environments from 6 x 10-4 Pa to ~1000 Pa. It is equipped with a special wet STEM detector that is ideal for the imaging of nanoparticles in biological systems. This system is a platform for in-situ electron microscopy development with heating and cooling stages allowing imaging from 20-1000°C, dual Kleindiek nano-manipulators with a micro-droplet injection system for electrical and mechanical measurements, and gas injection systems for platinum and gold e-beam deposition. The Quanta SEM is equipped with a unique array of accessories to enable the combination of high-resolution imaging and nanoscale manipulation allowing for powerful in-situ experiments involving controlled stimuli and correlated response. In-situ capabilities include: nanoscale manipulation of specimen or probe, access to the large sample volume by fluids, gases, electrical, optical and mechanical probes; detection of sample response to such probes, including the electron beam itself; and the temperature dependences of all these phenomena. Close
Focused Ion Beam
(existing equipment):
The FEI Strata DB235 FIB marries a high-resolution field emission SEM with a focused ion beam for precision milling, reactive ion-etching, and ion-assisted deposition with 4 gas injection systems. The FIB platform is upgraded with an Omniprobe nanomanipulator, this and a planned addition of an in-situ tensile stage will allow variable temperature observation of nanomechanical properties and provide fundamental insights into work hardening, defect propagation and deformation. Read More
(existing equipment):
The FEI Strata DB235 FIB marries a high-resolution field emission SEM with a focused ion beam for precision milling, reactive ion-etching, and ion-assisted deposition with 4 gas injection systems. The FIB platform is upgraded with an Omniprobe nanomanipulator, this and a planned addition of an in-situ tensile stage will allow variable temperature observation of nanomechanical properties and provide fundamental insights into work hardening, defect propagation and deformation. An integrated cryogenic stage allows for the ion milling of specimens at temperatures as low as -180°C, enabling the study of materials, such as some polymers, that cannot be milled at room temperature. The FEI FIB bridges the gap between nanocharacterization and nanofabrication by combining a high-resolution field-emission scanning electron microscope with a focused ion beam. Uniting these techniques in a single instrument allows users to seamlessly switch from secondary electron imaging to precision ion milling, ion-beam assisted material deposition and selective etching. The four gas injection systems will allow for platinum deposition and selective etching of carbon, metals, and oxides. Close
Atomic Force Microscopes
(existing equipment):
The Atomic Force Microscopy room will house two scanning probe microscopes (SPMs): the Veeco (DI) Dimension 3000 is a versatile instrument adaptable to a wide variety of sample sizes and shapes; Read More
(existing equipment):
The Atomic Force Microscopy room will house two scanning probe microscopes (SPMs): the Veeco (DI) Dimension 3000 is a versatile instrument adaptable to a wide variety of sample sizes and shapes; the Veeco (DI) Multiprobe is a high resolution SPM and is designed for atomic scale-resolution imaging. The capabilities of the laboratory extend beyond basic topographic imaging by including techniques such as phase contrast imaging, magnetic force microscopy, and electrical force microscopy. Close
Scanning Auger and XPS Microscope
(planned acquisition):
A crucial component of the study of materials at the nanoscale is the nature of the structure and composition at a surface. Read More
(planned acquisition):
A crucial component of the study of materials at the nanoscale is the nature of the structure and composition at a surface. While the other scanning electron microscopes in the facility yield detailed information about "bulk" materials from ten’s of nanometers to several microns, the surface layers represent only a small fraction of the analytical volume. The proposed acquisition of a Scanning Auger Nanoprobe and a Scanning X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS) Nanoprobe will allow for the intensive study of these surface layers. High-resolution imaging is accomplished through the electron source while Auger or XPS detectors give a detailed picture of the composition and structure of the material’s surface. Depth profiling, an analysis of the compositional changes from the surface to the interior of the material, is accomplished through the use of an ion sputtering gun, which mills away material allowing for a sequential series of analyses with increased depth. Close
Sample Preparation and Optimization
(existing equipment):
The Sample Preparation Laboratory will provide users of the Nanoscale Characterization Facility and the NBIC Scanning and Local Probe Facility with the tools needed to properly prepare and optimize their samples for analysis. Read More
(existing equipment):
The Sample Preparation Laboratory will provide users of the Nanoscale Characterization Facility and the NBIC Scanning and Local Probe Facility with the tools needed to properly prepare and optimize their samples for analysis. Sample preparation tools with include a combined gas plasma cleaner, high-resolution metal sputter and carbon evaporative coaters a cryo-plunge system, and other tools. The laboratory will include two six-foot fume hoods for preparation of sensitive or toxic materials, as well as over one hundred feet of laboratory bench space. Close
Core Facilities
