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Transmission Electron Microscopy

Transmission Electron Microscopy

In 1931, physicist Ernst Ruska—building on the idea that magnetic fields can direct an electron beam just as lenses can direct a beam of light in an optical microscope—developed the first prototype of the electron microscope. This development led to the development of the field of electron microscopy. In the transmission electron microscope (TEM), electrons are produced by a hot tungsten element and accelerated by a potential difference in an electron gun, which gives them up to 400...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Electrochemical Etching and Characterization of Sharp Field Emission Points for Electron Impact Ionization

Electrochemical Etching and Characterization of Sharp Field Emission Points for Electron Impact Ionization

Published on: July 12, 2016

Electron interactions with the focused electron beam induced processing (FEBID) precursor tungsten hexachloride.

Michael Neustetter¹, Filipe Ferreira da Silva², Stephan Denifl¹

¹Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Leopold Franzens Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria.

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM

|April 11, 2016

Summary

Secondary electrons drive the decomposition of tungsten hexachloride (WCl6) and its oxides. Electron ionization and attachment cause significant fragmentation, revealing pathways for material deposition and modification.

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Last Updated: Mar 22, 2026

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Electric-field Control of Electronic States in WS2 Nanodevices by Electrolyte Gating

Electric-field Control of Electronic States in WS2 Nanodevices by Electrolyte Gating

Published on: April 12, 2018

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Surface Chemistry
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Secondary electrons, with energies below 100 eV, are crucial in material interactions and deposition processes.
Focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) utilizes high-energy beams to decompose precursor compounds on surfaces.
Understanding the decomposition mechanisms of organometallic compounds by secondary electrons is vital for optimizing FEBID.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the electron ionization and dissociative electron attachment (DEA) of tungsten hexachloride (WCl6) in the gas phase.
To elucidate the decomposition pathways of WCl6 and its oxidized forms (WCl4O, WCl2O2) driven by secondary electrons.
To provide insights into the fundamental processes governing electron-induced decomposition for applications like FEBID.

Main Methods:

Utilized a double-focusing mass spectrometer with a Nier-type ion source.
Conducted electron ionization studies at 70 eV electron energy.
Performed dissociative electron attachment studies in the energy range of 0-14 eV.

Main Results:

Electron ionization of WCl6, WCl4O, and WCl2O2 resulted in extensive fragmentation, with W+ formation from WCl6.
Oxidized tungsten chlorides (WCl4O, WCl2O2) yielded WO2+ and WO+ fragments, respectively, upon electron ionization.
Dissociative electron attachment led to molecule decomposition, but W- anions were below the detection limit.

Conclusions:

Both electron ionization and DEA induce significant fragmentation in WCl6 and its oxides.
Fragmentation pathways involve the loss of chlorine atoms and/or oxygen atoms.
The formation of chlorine and oxygen anions suggests the generation of metal-containing neutral species reactive towards further electron interactions.