First Australian Installation of a DENSsolutions Climate Insitu TEM Platform

First Australian Installation of a DENSsolutions Climate in situ TEM Platform Source: Dr. Cameron Chai, AXT Pty Ltd

AXT, in conjunction with DENSsolutions, have installed the first Climate in situ TEM platform in Australia. The installation took place at the Australian Centre of Microscopy and Microanalysis at the University of Sydney.

The Climate is in an innovative system that enables complex studies, involving controlled gas environments and elevated temperatures, to be carried out within the vacuum confines of a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). This enables researchers to observe changes at the sub-Angstrom level, under precisely controlled conditions, that can mimic real world operating conditions. An understanding of a materials behaviour, under service conditions, can accelerate the development process and provide

invaluable data on service performance.

Researchers at the University of Sydney will have many applications for the system. Among the first applications will be projects including catalysts for hydrogen generation, methane breakdown in relation to global warming and environmental corrosion of metals, all of which have direct ecological and societal impacts.

When asked about the Climate acquisition, Dr. Vijay Bhatia, SEM Manager, commented, “The Climate system best fits the requirements of our multi-user core facility, catering to users from many different disciplines. The flexibility of the platform, interchangeability of parts and future-proof design, in conjunction with the user-friendly and intuitive software, made it the obvious choice for us”.

Standing next to the recently installed Climate G+ system: from left, Keita Nomoto, Dr. Hongwei Liu and Lizhuo Wang from the Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis.

Richard Trett, Managing Director at AXT replied, “The ability to carry out dynamic studies within a TEM extends the capabilities of the microscope beyond what the manufacturers had originally designed them for. This allows our researchers to gather more relevant data more quickly. Providing cuttingedge solutions like the Climate fulfils our mission to ensure Australian research is amongst the best in the world.”