CENEM Core Facility - Nanocharacterization with Electrons, X-rays and Scanning Probes

埃尔朗根-纽伦堡大学（FAU）的纳米分析和电子显微镜中心（CENEM）将纳米表征的三大支柱紧密结合在一起：电子显微镜、散射方法和扫描探针。CENEM核心设施的使命是为FAU、其他研究机构以及工业界的科学家提供这些领域的专用仪器和专业知识。CENEM在所有三个领域运行用户设施，并根据仪器和用户概况提供不同的访问模式。培训后独立使用仪器以及与CENEM研究小组合作进行更高级的研究是最受欢迎的。为了保持CENEM在研究与纳米表征技术的最前沿，在过去的三年中，CENEM在大学的帮助下获得了各个领域的尖端仪器，并已经开始在自己的研究中建立仪器，并与用户合作。一台现代化的FIB/SEM仪器以及一台配备了大量设备的双校正单色TEM分别于2013年和2014年在CENEMS电子显微镜单元安装并投入使用。此外，专用的TEM样品架已经获得并投入使用，例如，纳米机械和电气测试、基于芯片的样品加热、常规和360°电子断层扫描以及敏感样品的真空或惰性气体转移。在CENEMS散射单元中安装了两台SAXS仪器，一台用于外部用户访问的较小的标准SAXS机器和一台专门开发的大型SAXS/GISAXS机器，用于CENEM的高级协作工作。CENEMS散射单元的一个特点是与用户合作开发专用样品环境，例如，用于受控气氛下薄膜干燥过程的现场研究。在CENEMS扫描探针中，除了现有的仪器和方法（大室SEM，纳米压痕，AFM）外，最先进的原子探针断层扫描仪将可用于亚纳米尺度的3D纳米表征，很好地补充了CENEMS电子显微镜设施中现有的纳米分析技术。在第二个供资期，CENEM核心设施项目旨在巩固这一进展，将所有这些新仪器和先进技术纳入CENEM的常规用户访问。此外，该项目将有助于进一步发展CENEM成为一个可持续的平台，通过将三个研究领域更加紧密地结合在一起，利用互补技术进行纳米表征研究。这包括为用户举办专门的讲习班和研究学校，以及对学生和青年科学家进行教育。

The Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM) at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) closely brings together the three pillars of nanocharacterization: electron microscopy, scattering methods and scanning probes. The mission of the CENEM core facility is to provide dedicated instrumentation and expertise in these fields to scientists at the FAU, at other research institutes as well as to industry. The CENEM runs user facilities in all three fields and provides different modes of access, depending on instrumentation and user profile. The independent use of instruments after training and the cooperation with the CENEM research groups for more advanced studies turned out to be the most favored ones. In order to keep the CENEM at the forefront of research with nanocharacterization techniques during the past three years the CENEM has acquired, with the help of the University, cutting-edge instrumentation in each field and has already started to establish the instruments in own research and in collaborations with users. A modern FIB/SEM instrument as well as a double-corrected, monochromated TEM with extensive eauipment have been installed and put into operation in CENEMs electron microscopy unit in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Moreover, dedicated TEM sample holders have been acquired and put into operation, enabling, e.g., nanomechanical and electrical testing, chip-based sample heating, conventional and 360° electron tomography as well as vacuum or inert gas transfer of sensitive samples. In CENEMs scattering unit two SAXS instruments have been installed, a smaller standard SAXS machine for external user access and a specially-developed large SAXS/GISAXS machine for advanced collaborative CENEM work. A speciality of CENEMs scattering unit is the development of dedicated sample environments in collaboration with users, e.g., for the in situ investigation of film drying processes under controlled atmospheres. In CENEMs scanning probe, apart from the existing instruments and methods (large chamber SEM, nanoindentation, AFM), a state of the art atom probe tomography instrument will become available for 3D nanocharacterization on the sub-Nanometer scale nicely complementing the existing nanoanalytical techniques in CENEMs electron microscopy facility. In the second funding period the CENEM core facility project aims at consolidating this progress bringing all these new instruments and advanced techniques into CENEMs regular user access. Moreover the project will help to further develop the CENEM into a sustainable platform for nanocharacterization research with complementary techniques by bringing the three research areas even closer together. This includes dedicated workshops and research schools for user as well as education of students and young scientists.