Electron microscopic examinations in the service area

As the central facility of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the LEM performs electron microscopy service investigations.
The Laboratory for Electron Microscopy performs electron microscopy service investigations for the institutes of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology(KIT) and external clients. The fees depend on the client (see fees below) and the extent of the work. Please contact us best by phone to clarify the time required for the work.

Electron microscopy is preferably used for structural investigations when the resolving power of light microscopy is no longer sufficient, i.e. when specimens with structural details on the order of less than one micrometer are to be examined. However, electron microscopic studies may also be of interest on larger objects, such as those whose imaging requires a high depth of field. Analytical techniques (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS)) allow the chemical composition of the sample to be analyzed. Chemical analyses can be performed with exceptionally high spatial resolution at the nanometer scale, allowing samples that are chemically inhomogeneous at the nanometer scale to be characterized. In principle, material science and biological specimens can be analyzed in the broadest sense. A wide range of preparation methods is available for sample preparation.

Two types of electron microscopy are used in the LEM: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study surfaces and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study structures inside samples. Examples can be found under the keywords transmission or scanning electron microscopy. Nanostructuring can be performed with a combined focused ion beam (FIB)/REM system, which is also used for target preparation of TEM samples.

 

Equipment of the LEM

Scanning electron microscopes

LEO 1530 Gemini with Schottky field emitter

  • Secondary and backscattered electron imaging with energies from several 100 eV to 30 keV
  • Resolution for secondary electron imaging 1 nm at 20 keV and 3 nm at 1 keV
  • Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) starting from atomic number 5 (boron)
  • EBSD system for analysis of crystal orientations and microtextures

FEI Quanta 650 ESEM with Schottky field emitter

  • Secondary and backscattered electron imaging with energies from several 100 eV to 30 keV
  • Resolution for secondary electron imaging 1.2 nm at 30 keV and 3 nm at 1 keV in high vacuum mode, 1.5 nm at 30 keV in low vacuum and ESEM mode
  • Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) with Bruker EDXS Quantax 400 with SSD detector starting at atomic number 5 (boron)
  • Imaging of hydrous samples under ESEM at pressures up to max. 4000 Pa
  • Cryo-sample stage for investigations at temperatures down to -100 oCin combination with cryo-transfer system and Leica MED 020 with freeze-fracture preparation

Combined SEM/Focused-Ion-Beam (FIB) instruments

FEI Strata 400S

  • Combined scanning electron microscope/FIB system
  • Secondary and backscattered electron imaging with energies from several 100 eV to 30 keV
  • Low-energy STEM

FEI Helios G4

  • Combined Scanning Electron Microscope/FIB System
  • Secondary and backscattered electron imaging with energies from some 100 eV to 30 keV
  • Low-energy STEM, BF-STEM with 0.34 nm resolution
  • Focused-ion-beam sectioning, 3-dimensional reconstruction of the sample volume
  • Chemical analysis with EDXS
  • Crystal structure determination and crystal orientation determination with EBSD (Electron Backscatter Diffraction)

Sample preparation for scanning electron microscopy

  • Plasma etching
  • Cathode sputtering (sputtering system)
  • High vacuum vapor deposition
  • Critical point drying for biological samples

Transmission electron microscopes (TEM)

Philips CM 200 FEG/ST (200 kV)

  • with biprism for electron holography
  • Double tilt heated sample holder up to 900 oC
  • Double-tilt liquid nitrogen cooling sample holder

FEI Osiris ChemiStem (200 kV)

  • with EDXS from atomic number 5 (boron)
  • STEM unit with bright-field, dark-field and high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) detector

FEI Titan3 80-300 (80 kV, 300 kV)

  • with Cs-corrector in the imaging system and Wien-type monochromator
  • resolution 0.08 nm
  • EDXS from atomic number 5 (boron)
  • Tridiem Gatan Imaging Filter (GIF) for EELS spectroscopy with an energy resolution of 0.2 eV and energy filtered imaging (ESI)
  • Biprism for electron holography
  • STEM unit with bright-field, dark-field and high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) detector

 

Contact

SEM: M. Sc. Jonas Kaltenbach, Tel. 0721 608-48682 (jonas kaltenbach ∂does-not-exist.kit edu)

FIB&SEM: Dr. Erich Müller, Tel. 0721 608-48294 (erich mueller ∂does-not-exist.kit edu)

Director Transmission Electron Microscopy: Dr. Martin Peterlechner, 0721 608-43719 (martin peterlechner ∂does-not-exist.kit edu)

TEM: Dr. Radian Popescu, Tel. 0721 608-46101 (radian popescu ∂does-not-exist.kit edu)

TEM: Dr. Heike Störmer, Tel. 0721 608-43201 (heike stoermer ∂does-not-exist.kit edu)

 

Fees

Legal regulations stipulate that contract research has no longer been exempt from VAT since January 1, 2004. The prices stated below do not include sales tax.

 

Request for the use of services

 

Instructions for accessing the LEM sFTP server

The images and results of the service examinations performed by the Electron Microscopy Laboratory are available to customers via an sFTP server. Instructions for accessing this server can be found at the following link.

To access the server, an account with a personal password is required. If this is not available, our service staff will help you to set it up.