NCM622 cathode particles after 500 charge cycles, from a conventional lithium ion battery, imaged at 1 kV with Inlens SE detector. The primary particles can be resolved within the larger secondary particle, which shows cracks resulting from the aging process.

UK Electron Microscopy User Group Meeting 2024

For Materials Research and Electronics

Wed, 28 February 2024 - Thu, 29 February 2024

Event Location: Leicester City Football Grounds (King Power Stadium)

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Meeting Highlights

Thank You for Attending the EM User Group Meeting 2024

It was great to see you all in Leicester for what was an informative meeting for materials research and electronics! Our presenters shared cutting-edge research, we had engaging discussions, networking opportunities and interactive live demos. This event would not have been succesful without your participation, thank you for your input and positive feedback.

We look forward to seeing you at the next User Group meeting - watch this space!

Photo Gallery

Event Summary

Our EM User Group meeting with a focus on Materials Research and Electronics has now ended. The objective of this meeting was to support knowledge exchange between researchers and to expand our understanding of materials and electronic components.

The meeting agenda consisted of talks from researchers in the community and expert users from ZEISS, with a focus on application talks. The talks were split into two focus streams; Materials Research and Electronics. Each stream focused on key topics specific to that field. There were also live remote demonstrations of selected ZEISS electron microscopes and a tour of the Hercules facility (University of Leicester).

Hercules is an EPSRC funded facility for correlative analysis of crystals in 3D. The project aims to provide an open, easy to access facility for users both in Leicester and across the UK. This newly founded facility is host to cutting-edge technology, including a Crossbeam 350 FIB-SEM with femtosecond laser ablation and an Xradia Crystal CT microCT with diffraction contrast tomography capability.

We had two days of knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.

Agenda


11:30 - 12:30	Registration and Lunch
12:30 - 12:40	Welcome and Introduction
12:40 - 13:25	High-throughput, Operando SEM for Device Materials Process Discovery - Professor Stephan Hoffman (University of Cambridge)
	Scanning Electron Microscopy Session	Electronic Materials Characterisation Session
13:30 - 13:50	Thin Samples in the SEM - Dr. Gareth Hughes (Universtiy of Oxford)	Advancing Ga2O3 Integration: Heterogeneous Approaches with Diamond and SiC for High-Voltage Power Devices - Indraneel Sanyal (University of Bristol)
13:50 - 14:10	Automated Analysis with Mineralogic: 2D to 3D Mineral Characterisation - Dr. Jessica Berry (University of Plymouth)	Electron Diffraction in the SEM for Electronic Materials and Devices Characterization - Dr. Naresh Gunasekar (University of Cardiff)
14:10 - 14:30	Evolution of Gemini Optics - Dr. Benjamin Tordoff (Carl Zeiss Ltd.)	A multi-microscopy study of III-V QD lasers - Eve Burgess (University of Cardiff)
14:30 - 15:00	Break
	Focused Ion Beam & Image Analysis Session	Electronics Advanced Failure Analysis Techniques Session
15:00 - 15:20	Digital Image Correlation with Focused Ion Beam Microscopy - Dr. Alexander Lunt (University of Bath)	Combining three-dimensional FIB-SEM imaging and EBIC to characterize power semiconductor junctions - Heiko Stegmann and Greg Johnson (Carl Zeiss Ltd.)
15:20 - 15:40	Hercules: The Story So Far - Dr. Gareth Douglas (University of Leicester)	Unpacking the nanoprobing signals that arise from electron beam interactions with electronic devices - Greg Johnson (Carl Zeiss Ltd.)
15:40 - 16:00	Understanding 3D Volumetric Analysis of Active MOF Embedded in Thin Film Polymer - Andy Holwell (Carl Zeiss Ltd.)	Further Discussion and Q&A - All Participants
16:00 - 18:30	Drinks Reception and Hercules Facility Tours
18:30	Dinner


09:00 - 09:45	Microscopy Tools for Augmented Reality Research - Dr. Jamie Reynolds (WaveOptics)
10:00 - 10:50	Demo - GeminiSEM 560 for Ultra Low kV Imaging
	Analytics and Correlation Session
10:50 - 11:10	A Correlative Microscopy workflow for Nanoscale Failure Analysis in Electronic Packages - Dr. Thomas Rodgers (Carl Zeiss Gmbh)
11:10 - 11:30	Multi-modal Analysis with EDS, EBSD & Raman - Dr. Dan Haspel (Oxford Instruments Plc)
11:30 - 11:50	Correlative X-ray to Electron Microscopy of Leafcutter Ant Cuticular Armour - Prof Richard Johnston (Swansea University)
11:50 - 12:20	Break
12:20 - 13:20	Demo - XRM to Crossbeam Laser Workflow
13:20 - 13:50	Community Feedback Session
13:50 - 14:00	Closing Session
14:00 - 15:30	Lunch

Featured Speakers

We were pleased to have an experienced speaker line up for this meeting. You can expect to hear from speakers who are at the forefront of cutting-edge EM technology in various specialty fields at our future user group meetings. Below we have a selection of featured speaker bios from the event line up.

Speaker Dr. Alexander Lunt Senior Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath

Dr Alexander Lunt is a Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath. He is a world leader in micromechanics (90+ publications) with a focus on technique development using microscopy and non-destructive testing. The application base for his work is broad and includes multilayers, composite materials, additively manufactured systems, batteries and more. He has secured substantial funding (£4m+) in collaboration with his extensive academic and industrial research network (GKN, Dowty, Rolls Royce, etc..). Dr Lunt co-directs Bath’s Integrated Materials and Structures research centre and is principal investigator in the University’s collaboration with CERN. Additionally, he is the Imaging and Microscopy user representative at Diamond Light Source, and is Composites Lead Editor for the Elsevier Journal Materials & Design.

Speaker Dr. Naresh Gunasekar Lecturer, Condensed Matter and Photonics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University

Dr. Naresh Gunasekar is a lecturer in compound semiconductor device technology at Cardiff University, leading a research group on developing energy-efficient wide bandgap optical and electronic devices, particularly troubleshooting their reliability issues via correlative micro-spectroscopy. He completed his PhD from Strathclyde University in 2012 on developing and applying “Electron Channelling Contrast Imaging for III-nitride semiconductors” and is currently a fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society.

Speaker Eve Burgess PhD student, School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University

I’m Eve Burgess, from Oldham in Greater Manchester. I am a second year PhD student at Cardiff University – as part of the EPSRC CDT in Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing- supervised by Dr Juan Pereiro Viterbo, also working closely with the Cardiff University Optoelectronics group. My PhD project is in collaboration with Zeiss to develop a multi-microscopy study of III-V compound semiconductor devices, so far mainly focusing on understanding the reliability of quantum dot (QD) lasers.

Speaker Dr. Dan Haspel Market Segment Manager, Materials Analysis, Oxford Instruments

Dan is the Market Segment Manager for Materials Analysis at Oxford Instruments, where he was previously a Product Scientist at NanoAnalysis, where he specialised in EBSD and FIB applications. Dan came to Oxford Instruments mid-2022 and was previously a Technical Specialist at Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre, where he managed their Crossbeam 550. Dan went to Loughborough Uni for both his undergraduate Masters degree and his PhD, both in materials.

Speaker Greg Johnson Senior Application Development Engineer, Carl Zeiss Ltd

Greg has a BS degree from Virginia Tech and performed some graduate research at the University of Florida. At IBM’s Packaging Development Laboratory, he honed his FA skills in packaging, and was soon named an Inventor on 19 US Patents in greensheet formulation and sintering. Then, at IBM’s Semiconductor Research and Development Center, he was either the lead or sole FA engineer for FEOL defect localization across seven, successful, bulk technology node qualifications. And one in SOI. Now at Carl Zeiss Microscopy, he is developing applications in electron and ion microscopy for the semiconductor industry.

Speaker Dr. Jamie Reynolds Senior Nanophotonic Engineer, WaveOptics

Jamie Reynolds is an optical engineer in the Nanophotonics Technology team at Wave Optics / Snap Inc. His background is in nanoelectronics and nanophotonics. He studied at University of Southampton for his PhD in graphene single electron transistors and moved into postdoc researching NEMS and then Silicon photonics before he moved to Wave Optics 3 years ago.

Speaker Dr. Indraneel Sanyal Research Associate, Center for Device Thermography and Reliability (CDTR), H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol

Indraneel Sanyal is currently a Research Associate at the University of Bristol's Centre for Device Thermography and Reliability (CDTR), specializing in the advancement of state-of-the-art Ultrawide bandgap power devices. With a focus on epitaxial growth, Indraneel has dedicated the past eight years to working on ultra/wide bandgap semiconductors such as GaN and Ga2O3, utilizing techniques like molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).

Indraneel's journey began in 2015 at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IITKGP), India, where he developed GaN-on-Si technology using MBE for high-power transistors. From 2016 to 2021, during his Ph.D. in Taiwan, Indraneel played a pivotal role in the design, growth, and characterization of cutting-edge wide bandgap devices including quaternary AlInGaN for GaN-on-Si based RF devices. His contributions extended to technology transfer with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan, and Lexter.

Acknowledged for excellent graduate research, Indraneel received Taiwan's prestigious CTCI Foundation award in 2020. Actively fostering international collaboration, Indraneel has played a key role in connecting with renowned institutions such as the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology (Mandi). In Bristol, Indraneel actively engages in grant applications, notably as a Researcher Co-investigator in projects like the EPSRC Horizon with a considerable funding of approximately £200k, focusing on novel van-der-Waal epitaxy of Ga2O3.

Live Virtual Demos

We were pleased to demo three of our most versatile electron microscopes and to give the opportunity to ask our specialists your questions during these interactive sessions. Read on to learn more about what was covered during the live demo sessions.

$High resolution image of montmorillonite particles obtained at 800 V beam energy. Even though the sample is non-conductive, fine flakes on the fractured surface can be well resolved.$

Image 1. ZEISS GeminiSEM 560 Image 2. High resolution image of montmorillonite particles obtained at 800 V beam energy. Even though the sample is non-conductive, fine flakes on the fractured surface can be well resolved.

ZEISS GeminiSEM 560

During the "GeminiSEM 560 for Ultra Low kV Imaging" demo, you will see high performance even under low kV conditions on challenging, non-conductive samples. You will also see that ease-of-use was principle in the design of this instrument and this will help you to obtain research-grade images on even the most challenging specimens.

The GeminiSEM 560 is the pinnacle of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) at ZEISS. It is the ultimate high-resolution low-kV FESEM, featuring best resolution of 0.8 nm at 1 kV - achieved without the need for sample bias or source monochromation.

The GeminiSEM 560 features the Gemini III electron column, the latest evolution of our tried and tested Gemini electron column. As with the Gemini I column, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023, the Gemini III column features beam booster and electrostatic final lens. This is already designed for low kV performance. The Gemini III column also includes a nanotwin lens to provide the additional boost in performance. This lens even results in lower emission of magnetic fields than the Gemini I column.

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Image 1. ZEISS Crossbeam Laser Image 2. This image illustrates the preparation of an atom probe tomography (APT) sample using ZEISS Crossbeam laser. The sample is silicon. A specific site of the sample was marked by an ion beam induced deposition and prepared. First, a pillar is isolated from the bulk by laser machining. Next, the sample is shaped by FIB milling in steps.

ZEISS Crossbeam Laser

During the "XRM to Crossbeam Laser Workflow" demonstration, you will see how the Crossbeam Laser can correlate with the data from the Xradia Versa, using it to target a specific region buried deep below the sample surface. The femtosecond laser works quickly to remove the bulk material whilst maintaining a surface finish suitable for EBSD mapping.

The ZEISS Crossbeam combines imaging and analytical performance of a high resolution field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) with the processing ability of a next-generation Ga+ focused ion beam (FIB). Users can take advantage of ZEISS Crossbeam’s modular platform concept and high number of accessory ports to upgrade your system for any growing needs, e.g. with the LaserFIB for massive material ablation.

The femtosecond laser ablation module allows rapid access of deeply buried regions of interest, execution of correlated workflows across multiple length scales and acquisition of better sample representativity with large-volume analysis. The rapid preparation capability allows for faster 3D imaging (including analytics) workflows and the improved surface finish means reduced or no additional milling to achieve desired imaging in some cases.

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Image 1. ZEISS Xradia 630 Versa Image 2. Large field of view 3D X-ray scan of package-on-package (POP) from a smartphone main control board imaged at 10 μm/ voxel.

ZEISS Xradia Versa 3D X-ray Microscope

During the "XRM to Crossbeam Laser Workflow" demonstration, you will see how the Xradia Versa produces high resolution 3D datasets. The data will be used to identify a region of interested that is buried below the sample surface. This data can be correlated with the Crossbeam Laser, which can expose the region and perform the desired subsequent analysis.

Extremely versatile ZEISS Xradia Versa 3D X-ray microscopes (XRM) provide superior 3D image quality and data for a wide range of materials and working environments. Xradia Versa XRM features dual-stage magnification based on synchrotron-caliber optics and revolutionary RaaD™ (Resolution at a Distance) technology for high resolution even at large working distances, a vast improvement over traditional micro-computed tomography. Non-destructive imaging preserves and extends the use of your valuable sample, enabling 4D and in situ studies.

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