An Atomic Force Microscope inside FIB-SEM for in-Situ Nanomaterial Characterization

纳米材料合成的进展导致了大量的新型功能材料。表征对于指导纳米材料设计和确定优化纳米材料应用的策略至关重要（例如，高性能电池和生物传感器）。在CFI的支持下，最近在UofT安装了一台双束聚焦离子束扫描电子显微镜（FIB-SEM），用于开放获取，以支持UofT内外的众多纳米技术研究工作。FIB-SEM具有高研磨和成像分辨率，并且配备有用于检测次级和背散射电子的多个检测器和模块（例如，能量色散谱-EDS和电子背散射衍射-EBSD）。虽然该仪器对于结构成像、材料研磨和沉积以及化学/材料分析是强大的，但它缺乏对单个纳米结构进行机械、电学和光学测量以进行原位表征的重要能力。

Advances in nanomaterial synthesis have resulted in a plethora of novel functional materials. Characterization is critical for guiding nanomaterials design and identifying strategies to optimize nanomaterials-enabled applications (e.g., high-performance batteries and biosensors). With CFI support, a dual-beam focused ion beam - scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) was recently installed at UofT for open access to support the numerous nanotechnology research efforts inside and outside UofT. The FIB-SEM has high milling and imaging resolutions and is equipped with a number of detectors and modules for detecting secondary and backscattered electrons (e.g., energy-dispersive spectroscopy—EDS and electron backscatter diffraction—EBSD). While the instrument is powerful for structural imaging, materials milling and deposition, and chemical/material analysis, it lacks the important capability of mechanical, electrical, and optical measurements on single nanostructures for in-situ characterization.