Spectra 300 (S)TEM: overview of capabilities of this new tool in the Joint Electron Microscopy Center at ALBA
Belén Ballesteros, ICN2 – Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Spain
Monday 3rd June 2024
ICMAB -Sala d'Actes Carles Miravitlles
ONLINE (Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsduutrD8jGdVNG7v83E3GdKJ1C69okxB8)
Abstract
This presentation will give an overview of the experimental possibilities offered by the new high-end Spectra 300 (S)TEM recently installed in the Joint Electron Microscopy Centre at ALBA facilities. This microscope is a joint effort of several institutions including ICN2, CSIC, ICMAB, ALBA and UAB to provide cutting edge electron microscopy to the materials science research community.
The Spectra 300 is a monochromated double aberration corrected (scanning)-transmission electron microscope system suitable for atomic scale imaging and spectroscopy, providing ultimate spatial and energy resolution: 50pm (at 300kV) and 25meV (at 60kV) respectively. Besides, the microscope is equipped with the required hardware and software to perform state-of-the-art characterization including 4D-STEM, differential phase contrast, electron tomography and low dose imaging, among others.
Examples showcasing the unique capabilities of this infrastructure will be discussed, together with some insights on access to the facility and future upgrades and developments.
Short bio
Belén Ballesteros is a CSIC scientific researcher working at the ICN2
(Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Spain) where she leads the Electron Microscopy Unit since 2009 and is the Head of the METCAM platform in JEMCA (Joint Electron Microscopy Center in ALBA) since 2022.
She earned her degree in Chemistry at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona before going on to obtain her PhD in 2006 at the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC). Then she moved to the University of Oxford for her postdoctoral work, where she specialized in electron microscopy imaging and nanoanalysis of nanomaterials. During her scientific career she has also undertook research stays European universities, including Universiteit Twente (Netherlands), Universitetet i Oslo (Norway), University of St Andrews (UK) and Universidad de la Laguna (Spain)
Her present research interests focus on the study of functional low dimensional materials with application in the biomedical field and the study of single-layered inorganic nanotubes.
