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Cornell University

Cornell Center for Materials Research

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM)

The CCMR's suite of STEM focused instruments includes Andromeda, Kraken, Themis Cryo-STEM, and Perseus.  All have TEM capabilities but most are primarily operated in STEM mode. Each instrument has its own strengths, but there is a lot of crossover between them, and most experiments can be performed on multiple instruments. Users who are interested in TEM or STEM in the CCMR are encouraged to contact any of our knowledgeable facility managers to discuss your experimental needs; we will be happy to guide you through the process.  

The Gallery below shows some images and data that were taken on the STEM instruments in the CCMR.  Please see the individual instrument pages for more specifics on instrument capabilities and data that can be acquired from our world class microscopes.

Stained Glass Window: Large angle convergent beam electron diffraction (LACBED) pattern of ~40nm thick exfoliated ErTe3 flake. LACBED patterns are useful to study the crystallographic symmetries in a sample. These patterns are taken at large defocus, and contain both real and reciprocal-space information, making the interpretation of scale bars difficult. || Submitted by: Saif Siddique || Advisor: Judy Cha || Data like this can be acquired on our Andromeda, Kraken, or Themis microscopes.

Stained Glass Window: Large angle convergent beam electron diffraction (LACBED) pattern of ~40nm thick exfoliated ErTe3 flake. LACBED patterns are useful to study the crystallographic symmetries in a sample. These patterns are taken at large defocus, and contain both real and reciprocal-space information, making the interpretation of scale bars difficult. || Submitted by: Saif Siddique || Advisor: Judy Cha

HAADF-STEM of Cu-Au Nanorods: Atomic resolution HAADF-STEM images of colloidally-synthesized Cu-Au nano rods. Atomically precise synthesis and morphology control are essential to develop the catalysts of tomorrow. || Submittedby: Ritwick Sinha || Advisor: Yong L.Joo || Data like this can be acquired on our Andromeda, Kraken, or Themis microscopes.

HAADF-STEM of Cu-Au Nanorods: Atomic resolution HAADF-STEM images of colloidally-synthesized Cu-Au nano rods. Atomically precise synthesis and morphology control are essential to develop the catalysts of tomorrow. || Submittedby: Ritwick Sinha || Advisor: Yong L.Joo

Twin[ned] Peak(s): A HAADF-STEM image of a tantalum oxide film grown with molecular beam epitaxy. High temperature decomposition of the substrate incorporates magnesium into the film and creates peaks and gullies whose topography gives rise to complex arrangements of twin domains. || Submitted by: Noah Schnitzer || Advisor: David Muller || Data like this can be acquired on our Andromeda, Kraken, or Themis microscopes.

Twin[ned] Peak(s): A HAADF-STEM imageof a tantalum oxide filmgrown with molecularbeam epitaxy. Hightemperaturedecomposition of thesubstrate incorporatesmagnesium into thefilm and creates peaksand gullies whosetopography gives riseto complexarrangements of twindomains. || Submitted by: NoahSchnitzer || Advisor: David Muller

Interfaces Like Never Before: Montage of ptychographic images showing the interface between ferroelectric sodium niobate thin film (top) and dysprosium scandate substrate (bottom) along two orthogonal directions. The advanced imaging capabilities of electron ptychography enable the study of interface effects and ferroelectric distortions at a level of resolution and detail unmatched by any other technique. Sample from Prof. Harold Hwang's group at Stanford. || Submitted by: Harikrishnan Kunhikrishnan Premakumari || Advisor: David Muller || Data like this can be acquired on our Andromeda, Kraken, or Themis microscopes.

Interfaces Like Never Before: Montage of ptychographic images showing the interface between ferroelectric sodium niobate thin film (top) and dysprosium scandate substrate (bottom) along two orthogonal directions. The advanced imaging capabilities of electron ptychography enable the study of interface effects and ferroelectric distortions at a level of resolution and detail unmatched by any other technique. Sample from Prof. Harold Hwang's group at Stanford. || Submitted by: Harikrishnan Kunhikrishnan Premak

Slips in the Highway to Hell: Atomic resolution image of a slip defect in a free-standing strontium titanate membrane. While the membrane might appear to form a "Stairway to Heaven", the presence of the slip defect, striking like the lightning bolt of AC/DC, reveals that this is a "Highway to Hell". Band logo from Wikipedia under a public license. || Submitted by: Harikrishnan Kunhikrishnan Premakumari || Advisor: David Muller || Data like this can be acquired on our Andromeda, Kraken, or Themis microscopes.

Atomic resolution image of a slip defectin a free-standing strontium titanatemembrane. While the membrane mightappear to form a "Stairway to Heaven",the presence of the slip defect, strikinglike the lightning bolt of AC/DC, revealsthat this is a "Highway to Hell". Bandlogo from Wikipedia under a publiclicense

Full view of the Thermo Andromeda scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM).

Full view of the Thermo Andromeda scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM).

A user loading a sample in Thermo Andromeda STEM

a user loading a sample in Thermo Andromeda STEM

Imaging on Perseus S/TEM

Imaging on Perseus S/TEM