[ Research ]
[ Research ]
Finland moves to the forefront of Nordic materials research
The first plasma-FIB scanning electron microscope in Finland recently became operational at VTT in Espoo , Finland . The investment will significantly contribute to materials research for applications such as hydrogen economy , microelectronics , and the marine industry , as well as to material damage investigation .
Text & images by VTT
Finland ’ s first Focused Ion Beam ( FIB ) Scanning Electron Microscope ( SEM ) using Xenon plasma , a TESCAN AMBER X system , has just been commissioned at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland . There are just a handful of these systems in the Nordic countries , and worldwide they remain a rare piece of equipment . The multi-million priced equipment includes all the bells and whistles that a materials researcher could dream of . Compared to traditional FIB- SEMs , it provides huge potential for excelling in materials research and multiplying the speed of materials development . “ The new capability for lightningfast materials characterization in 3D supports , for example , integrated computational materials engineering ( ICME ) and materials acceleration platforms ( MAPs ). While new materials traditionally take ages to develop , this capability allows us to reduce the time from design to market roughly to one-tenth ,” says Supriya Nandy , Senior Scientist at VTT .
State-of-the-art materials development The new FIB-SEM can perform sitespecific investigations with nanometer accuracy for all types of materials . The sample can be imaged and tested simultaneously , which is useful , for instance , for observing how the material reacts to a certain load . “ With the help of plasma-FIB and its in-situ testing capabilities , we can answer questions not only about the material ’ s properties but also about how the material behaves under strain , extreme temperatures — or both at the same time . What else could a materials scientist dream of when developing state-of-the-art materials for current
The image on the left shows the 3D microstructure of martensitic steel determined by static slice imaging using FIB and the EBSD method . The image on the right shows a cross-section of cast iron made by a plasma-FIB , which is significantly larger than one made with traditional FIB . ( Image credit : VTT )
and future industry needs ?” Nandy continues . The TESCAN AMBER X at VTT provides several industries with opportunities for groundbreaking materials development . “ Marine and aviation industries could benefit from our equipment to ensure their materials will always endure in various conditions . Another example is the emerging hydrogen economy , which requires careful studies and analysis of surface materials . Also , the battery and semiconductor industries could be very interested ,” says Janne Pakarinen , Research Team Leader at VTT . In addition , VTT will use the new FIB- SEM in material damage investigation , for instance , for chemical , paper , and marine industries . Samples can be scanned very accurately to see possible deformations in crystal structures . “ We receive assignments to find the root cause of material failures . It is particularly important to investigate the failure mechanism in materials to avoid repeating similar damage in the future ,” Pakarinen says .
Xenon plasma The new equipment at VTT operates using xenon plasma instead of gallium , which is used in more traditional FIB-SEMs . The maximum range of Gabased units is a hundred nA , whereas the Xe-plasma-FIB can do several µ A ion currents . This difference is crucial and enables considerably better possibilities for research . “ The plasma-FIB ’ s ion-milling process is extremely fast and allows for significantly larger cross-sections and volumes to be investigated compared to traditional ion milling . Unarguably , this gives a more complete understanding of the materials ’ properties , increases the sample throughput , and improves the possibilities , for example , in materials modeling that is based on or benchmarked always with experimental data ,” Supriya Nandy explains . In addition to the plasma-FIB , the new SEM comes with state-of-theart detectors for Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy ( EDS ) and Electron Back-Scattering Diffraction ( EBSD ) and in-situ tensile stage that can reach up to 1200 ° C .
54 Stainless Steel World June 2024 www . stainless-steel-world . net