Studies of dielectric oxides as a function of field and temperature using scanning transmission electron microscopy

开发高温介电材料对于一系列工业领域非常重要，因为这将使电子控制装置更靠近发动机等设备的暖区，从而改善操作。因此，该项目对一系列领域都有好处，特别是在节能运输方面，因此触及了EPSRC和与能源有关的国家优先事项。该项目的具体目标是开发显微镜技术，用于在高温和电偏压下原位分析此类材料的结构和局部极化。它正在与EPSRC资助的项目EP/P013945/1“高温弛豫电介质中极性结构的分析：材料发现框架”平行进行。材料主要由利兹大学的Steven J Milne博士小组通过该项目提供，该项目开发了这种新型高温超导体。该方法将结合联合收割机的一些新的发展，包括通过与DENS解决方案BV合作，在MEMS芯片上组合加热和偏置透射电子显微镜样品，以及使用最近开发的探测器在扫描透射电子显微镜中对散射和衍射电子进行像素化检测。后一个领域在格拉斯哥通过项目“快速像素探测器：STEM成像的范式转变”（EP/M009963/1）得到了广泛的发展，这项工作也代表了该工作的延续及其在功能氧化物应用材料科学中的特定问题的应用。

Developing high temperature dielectric materials is important for a range of industrial areas, as this would enable electronic controls to be placed closer to the warm zone of a device such as an engine and therefore improve the operation. This project is therefore of benefit to a range of areas and especially as concerns energy-efficient transportation, and thus touching on key EPSRC and national priorities related to Energy. The specific aim of this project is to develop microscopy techniques for the analysis of the structure and local polarisation of such materials in-situ, under both elevated temperature and electrical bias. It is being performed in parallel to the EPSRC-funded project, EP/P013945/1, "Analysis of Polar Structure in High Temperature Relaxor Dielectrics: Framework for Materials Discovery". Materials are mainly being provided through this project from the group of Dr Steven J Milne at the University of Leeds, where this new class of high temperature dielectrics has been developed. The methods will combine a number of new developments including combined heating and biasing of transmission electron microscope specimens on a MEMS chip via a collaboration with DENS solutions BV, and pixelated detection of scattered and diffracted electrons in scanning transmission electron microscopy using recently developed detectors. This latter area was extensively developed at Glasgow through the project "Fast Pixel Detectors: a paradigm shift in STEM imaging" (EP/M009963/1), and this work also represents a continuation of that work and its application to a specific problem in the applied materials science of functional oxides.