Effects of the Encapsulation Membrane in Operando Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy
Kunmo Koo, Stephanie M. Ribet, Chi Zhang, Paul J. M. Smeets, Roberto dos Reis, Xiaobing Hu, Vinayak P. Dravid
Abstract
gas-phase electron microscopy. Such advanced techniques are often performed using an environmental cell inserted into a conventional S/TEM setup, as this method facilitates concurrent electrochemical and temperature stimulations in a convenient and cost-effective manner. However, these cells are made by encapsulating gas between two insulating membranes, which introduces additional electron scattering. We have evaluated strengths and limitations of the gas-phase E-cell S/TEM technique, both experimentally and through simulations, across a variety of practical parameters. We reveal the degradation of image quality in an E-cell setup from various components and explore opportunities to improve imaging quality through intelligent choice of experimental parameters. Our results underscore the benefits of using an E-cell STEM technique, due to its versatility and excellent ability to suppress the exotic contributions from the membrane device.