Micro-fabricated channel with ultra-thin yet ultra-strong windows enables electron microscopy under 4-bar pressure

作者：Alan Tuncay^*; Yokosawa Tadahiro; Gaspar Joao; Pandraud Gregory; Paul Oliver; Creemer Fredrik; Sarro Pasqualina M; Zandbergen Henny W

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2012, 100(8): 081903.

DOI：10.1063/1.3688490

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of (de-)hydrogenation reactions is crucial to characterize efficiency of hydrogen storage materials. The nanoreactor, a micromachined channel with 15-nm-thick windows, effectively confines the gas flow to an electron-transparent chamber during TEM of reactions. Realistic experiments require very high pressures to be sustained by the device. Nanomechanical bulge tests and simulations show that due to a very strong size effect, ultra-thin device components can reliably withstand tensile stresses as high as 19.5 GPa enabling high pressure operation. We use the device to characterize Pd particles under a 4-bar H-2 pressure within the ultra-high-vacuum of the TEM.