Technical Details

The Talos F200X is a 200kV Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) from FEI (ThermoFisher) with a Field Emission Gun (FEG).

The Talos is particularly suitable for investigations in materials science. In addition to being used to record “normal” TEM and HRTEM (HR = “High Resolution) images, it can also be operated in scanning mode (S-TEM).

An example of an HRTEM image is shown in the figure on the right. The Image shows titanium nitride (TiN) on sapphire (Al2O3). This system has the potential for high-temperature photovoltaics. The specimen was provided by Manohar Chirumamilla, prepared by Lida Wang and investiated by Tobias Krekeler. The picture clearly shows the epitaxial relationship between the sapphire surface (0001) and the (111) lattice plane of the cubic TiN structure. Due to two possible orientations of the (111) lattice planes on the (0001) surface, interfaces are formed between the two possible orientations. The image shows the FFTs (Fast Fourier Transforms) of the atomic arrangements of the substrate (bottom), one orientation of the TiN (top left) and the other (top right).

A special feature is the excellent EDX analysis of the device. Due to the 4 silicon-drift EDX detectors (SDD), it is for example possible to make particularly fast element mappings. The Talos F200X also allows the creation of 3D models of samples using 3D tomography. A series of images are taken at different tilt angles. A 3D model of the sample can then be generated from the series of images using computer-assisted methods.