Thermo Fisher Scientific at Microscopy Conference 2023

Lithium metal is one of the most promising anode candidates for the next-gen solid state battery. To go through the hurdles for a reliable and cost-effective solid-state battery, it is crucial to build strong fundamental understandings of different parts of a battery at microscopy level. Techniques such as site-specific DualBeam (FIB-SEM) lamella preparation and subsequent TEM analysis have always been the key steps to unlock atomic resolution for materials science studies. However, due to the air and moisture sensitivity associated with various battery components (Li metal, SEI layer, Solid electrolyte), it used to be a very challenging task to keep sample integrity during the workflow, especially during sample transfer between different instruments.

In the current study, the Thermo Scientific IGST workflow solution was used to enable a DualBeam to TEM workflow by protecting both the bulk sample and the prepared lamella in Ar atmosphere with a CleanConnect transfer module. A TEM lamella from a Li metal piece were prepared with Cryo Ar+ PFIB with Thermo Scientific Hydra DualBeam. The lamella was then transferred successfully into a Thermo Scientific Talos TEM with IGST workflow and atomic resolution imaging was achieved.

The study successfully shows the capability of the workflow by achieving atomic resolution from Li-metal, which is one of the most challenging samples in terms of air, moisture, and temperature sensitivity. The success of the workflow also enables new methods to study other trending topics in the battery world such as characterization of SEI layer evolution, post-mortem analysis in higher resolution whilst keeping the sample in its original state.

Cryo-electron tomography provides molecular insights into intact subcellular environments. Cryo-FIB instruments have fundamentally changed the way samples are prepared for tomography, opening new opportunities to unravel fundamental questions in cell and structural biology. Here we provide an overview of our latest cryo-FIB developments and introduce our next-generation microscope with state-of-the-art plasma ion source, automated sample loading system and integrated fluorescence microscopy. The Arctis Cryo-Plasma-FIB offers a direct connection to the cryo-TEM and further streamlines cryo-lamellae production.

Crystalline defects that occur during the early stages of compound semiconductor manufacturing can result in killer defects, compromising reliability and performance when the device is stressed under operational conditions. Understanding the defect type, nature, and density is critical for understanding the root cause and preventing failures. Electron microscopy provides techniques for localizing and characterizing the crystallographic properties of defects using non-destructive SEM techniques, such as Electron Channeling Contrast Imaging (ECCI), extraction of the region of interest, TEM sample preparation, and TEM analysis with extremely high resolution under controlled diffraction. This workflow is simple to use and can provide answers to identify and root cause defects, and inform manufacturing processes.

Amira and Avizo are well known to be most flexible software solutions to build custom workflows to visualize, segment and analyze highly complex image data. The functionality of the core software can be extended at any time by adding special computation or visualization modules via the Extensions system. Recently we added new Deep Learning driven tools to address and facilitate complex segmentation tasks. During this talk we will provide inside in our latest solutions to handle demanding data sets from the Material Sciences and Life Sciences.