A Workflow for Correlative in-situ Nano-chip Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography Enabled by Cryogenic Plasma Focused Ion Beam

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Mulcahy, Neil, Douglas, James O., Jannat, Syeda Ramin, Worch, Lukas, Topore, Geri, Gault, Baptiste, Ryan, Mary P., Conroy, Michele Shelly
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Mulcahy, Neil
Douglas, James O.
Jannat, Syeda Ramin
Worch, Lukas
Topore, Geri
Gault, Baptiste
Ryan, Mary P.
Conroy, Michele Shelly
author_facet Mulcahy, Neil
Douglas, James O.
Jannat, Syeda Ramin
Worch, Lukas
Topore, Geri
Gault, Baptiste
Ryan, Mary P.
Conroy, Michele Shelly
contents Operando/in-situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) allows for real time imaging of dynamic nanoscale liquid-based processes. However, due to the thick liquid cell of traditional LCTEM holders and thus scattering of the electron beam passing through the cell, the achievable spatial and chemical resolution is limited. Cryogenic atom probe tomography (cryo-APT) overcomes these limitations by offering (near-)atomic scale compositional analysis of frozen liquid-solid interfaces. However, APT provides limited structural analysis and has no capacity for dynamic or operando liquid cell studies. This work presents a novel workflow for site-specific cryo-APT sample preparation of liquid-solid interfaces from in-situ electrochemical LCTEM Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) chips. Using cryogenic inert gas transfer suitcase and a cryogenic plasma-focused ion beam (PFIB), a MEMs nanochip containing a Li electrolyte from an electrochemistry LCTEM holder was successfully frozen, transferred to the cryo stage of a PFIB and prepared into APT needle samples containing the electrolyte-electrode interface at cryogenic temperatures, followed by cryogenic transfer to an atom probe for nanoscale compositional analysis. This correlative approach provides dynamic nanoscale imaging and near atomic scale compositional analysis of liquid-solid interfaces. This method enables reliable and reproducible APT sample preparation of these frozen interfaces from MEMs based nanochips and can hence be used across materials systems and energy-conversion or storage devices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_19020
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Workflow for Correlative in-situ Nano-chip Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography Enabled by Cryogenic Plasma Focused Ion Beam
Mulcahy, Neil
Douglas, James O.
Jannat, Syeda Ramin
Worch, Lukas
Topore, Geri
Gault, Baptiste
Ryan, Mary P.
Conroy, Michele Shelly
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Operando/in-situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) allows for real time imaging of dynamic nanoscale liquid-based processes. However, due to the thick liquid cell of traditional LCTEM holders and thus scattering of the electron beam passing through the cell, the achievable spatial and chemical resolution is limited. Cryogenic atom probe tomography (cryo-APT) overcomes these limitations by offering (near-)atomic scale compositional analysis of frozen liquid-solid interfaces. However, APT provides limited structural analysis and has no capacity for dynamic or operando liquid cell studies. This work presents a novel workflow for site-specific cryo-APT sample preparation of liquid-solid interfaces from in-situ electrochemical LCTEM Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) chips. Using cryogenic inert gas transfer suitcase and a cryogenic plasma-focused ion beam (PFIB), a MEMs nanochip containing a Li electrolyte from an electrochemistry LCTEM holder was successfully frozen, transferred to the cryo stage of a PFIB and prepared into APT needle samples containing the electrolyte-electrode interface at cryogenic temperatures, followed by cryogenic transfer to an atom probe for nanoscale compositional analysis. This correlative approach provides dynamic nanoscale imaging and near atomic scale compositional analysis of liquid-solid interfaces. This method enables reliable and reproducible APT sample preparation of these frozen interfaces from MEMs based nanochips and can hence be used across materials systems and energy-conversion or storage devices.
title A Workflow for Correlative in-situ Nano-chip Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography Enabled by Cryogenic Plasma Focused Ion Beam
topic Materials Science
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.19020