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[August 2005]
High Temperature Accessory for STEM
Hitachi High-Technologies Corp (Wokingham, Berks, England) has introduced a directly heated specimen holder for use with the high resolution HD-2300 scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). This new accessory allows the atomic behaviour of materials at high temperatures to be examined.
The accessory features a tungsten element which can be heated to more than 1500°C. By covering the heater with a 30nm thick carbon film, the system can be used to investigate the properties of nanoparticles at high temperatures. Specimens on the film can be heated to approximately 1000°C. Using the integral video recording system of the HD-2300, dynamic events can be recorded as a function of temperature, using bright field, dark field and secondary electron imaging.
A new technical datasheet (STEM No. 12), reporting on the use of this accessory, has been published by Hitachi. Entitled 'High resolution STEM observation of nanoparticles at high temperature', this document covers in-situ observation of the melting of ZnS particles, EDX analysis of gold nanoparticles and dynamic observation of the surface and atomic rearrangement of gold nanoparticles at around 300°C. Copies of this document are available by e-mail from Hitachi: info@hitachi-hitec-uk.com
ENDS