DESCRIPTION:

• This project is to educate students about important roles of electron microscopy in nanoscience and nanotechnology. It will cover some properties of electrons, principles of electron microscopy, applications of electron microscopy in characterizing nano-scale materials, and the development of electron microscopy to meet challenges in nanotechnology.
• Electron microscopy normally refers to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), including tens of special techniques. Nano-structured materials includes 0 to 3 dimensional nanometer scale structures such as nano-particles, nanowires, interfaces and multilayers. Electron microscopy not only let students see a real nano-word, but also provides other varieties of information such as composition, crystal structure, and electronic structure.
• The project will lead students to the nano-world. The knowledge they gain from this project will greatly benefit them in their career and future life.

» I. Introduction (PDF)

Key modern technologies, for example, television, computer, flash memory for digital camera results from the knowledge we have gained from electrons. It is hardly to think what our daily life looks like without electrons.

» II. Electron microscopy: TEM and SEM (PDF)

1. What are electron microscopes?
2. Scanning electron microscope
3. Transmission electron microscope

» III. Seeing with electrons: imaging (PDF)

1. Nanostructure
2. O-D nanostructure
3. 1-D nanostructure
4. 2-D nanostructure
5. Self-assembled nanostructure

» IV. More than images (PDF)

• SEM:EDS, EBSD
• TEM:EDS, EFTEM, electron diffraction, EELS, STEM, electron holography, cryo-TEM, Tomography, in-situ TEM

» V. Challenges and opportunities (PDF)

Challenges from:

• Nanotechnology: top down or bottom up using small blocks
• Semiconductor industry: 45 nm MOSFET, gate:2.5nm
• Data storage: 500 Gb/in2, bits size:36 nm
• Biomaterials: Low-kV

Opportunities:

• Aberration-corrected TEM and SEM

Contributor:
Dr. Jian-Guo Zheng

Institution:
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL USA

Level:
9th grade and above