Electron microscope Titan (80-300)

The FEI Titan (80-300) transmission electron microscope at Ulm University is one of the first commercial aberration-corrected microscopes worldwide (since October 2005).

It is equipped with an objective spherical aberration corrector. The benefit of the corrector to image carbon nanotubes at low voltages is clearly seen in Fig. 1.

HR-TEM image of double-walled CNT
Figure 1: 80kV CS-corrected HR-TEM images of a double walled CNT imaged (a) corrector switched off and (b) with correction (image from [1]).

At 300 kV a point-to-point resolution of 78 pm is reached in HR-TEM and 130 pm in STEM. Images are taken with a small negative CS and small positive defocus (Negative spherical aberration NCSI technique [2]) showing bright atom contrast. The following modes are available HR-TEM, STEM, EELS, Energy Filtered TEM, and Electron Tomography. The microscope is equipped with a bi-prism, so that work in Electron Holography and Lorentz Microscopy is possible as well. Within the SALVE I project, the experiments are performed at 80 kV to reduce radiation damage (compare also with Fig. 1 in outline research on the SALVE website).

HR-TEM image and model of Si, SiC, Si3N4
Figure 2: The figure shows CS-corrected HR-TEM images taken at 300 kV with the NCSI technique. The dumbbells of [110] Si, [11-20] 4H-SiC, [0001] Si3N4 and [112] Si can be resolved (the model of the structures are overlaid) [2]. (Images: Ulm University ).
  1. Kaiser, U. A., Chuvilin A., Meyer J., Biskupek J., 2009: Microscopy at the bottom. in: W. Grogger, F. Hofer, P. Poelt (Eds.), Materials Science Microscopy Conference MC2009, 3:1-6, doi: 10.3217/978-3-85125-062-6-379
  2. Urban, K. W., C. L. Lia, L. Houben, M. Lentzen, S.-B. Mi and K. Tillmann, 2009: Negative spherical aberration ultrahigh-resolution imaging in corrected transmission electron microscopy, Phil. Trans. R Soc. A, 367:1903, doi: 10.1098/rsta.2009.0134

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