It has been discussed for many years that the increasing demands on the precision of measurements at atomic level for semiconductor technology, catalysis research and materials science can no longer be adequately met with electron microscopes, some of which are almost 25 years old. The TU Vienna has therefore decided to invest in a new TEM. At the same time, the ‘AQUTEM’ project by Prof Philipp Haslinger, which involves the entanglement of photons with electrons to investigate quantum phenomena, was approved by the FFG. This enabled a second TEM to be purchased. The investment in two devices enabled the manufacturer to grant a volume discount so that better devices can be purchased.

The TU Vienna is now receiving two JEOL NEOARM^TM. One of them with beam and image corrector to correct the aberrations during beam shaping and image generation and thus achieve a resolution of 0.8 Å. The image corrector in particular is of great importance for in-situ investigations in catalysis research.

"In addition, the double-corrected TEM can also be operated at low high voltages of only 20 kV, which is particularly important for radiation-sensitive samples. Not only can radiation damage be avoided, but Vavilov-Cerenkov radiation and the associated energy losses only occur in a few materials at such low radiation energies," explains Dr Stöger-Pollach.

The ‘AQUTEM’ will be a special research instrument. "The high time resolution, which is almost infinitely adjustable, is achieved by a cavity downstream of the electron source," says Prof. Haslinger.

"What both devices are still missing are energy filters. These will be put out to tender separately in October,’ adds Prof. Bernardi, Head of Electron Microscopy at TU Wien, “and the magnetic field shielding and vibration damping in the new laboratories in the ZE building on the Atominstitut site”.