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The effect of secondary electrons on radiolysis as observed by in liquid TEM: The role of window material and electrical bias

authors
Lindsey A.Bultema, Robert Bücker, Eike C.Schulza, Friedjof Tellkamp, Josef Gonschior, R.J. DwayneMiller, Günther H.Kassiera
date published
Oct. 3, 2022
journal
Ultramicroscopy
volume, number
240
pages
113579
doi
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2022.113579
abstract

The effect of window material on electron beam induced phenomena in liquid phase electron microscopy (LPEM) is an interesting yet under-explored subject. We have studied the differences of electron beam induced gold nanoparticle (AuNP) growth subject to three encapsulation materials: Silicon Nitride (Si3N4), carbon and formvar. We find Si3N4 liquid cells (LCs) to result in significantly higher AuNP growth yield as compared to LCs employing the other two materials. In all cases, an electrical bias of the entire LC structures significantly affected particle growth. We demonstrate an inverse correlation of the AuNP growth rate with secondary electron (SE) emission from the windows. We attribute these differences at least in part to variations in SE emission dynamics, which is seen as a combination of material and bias dependent SE escape flux (SEEF) and SE return flux (SERF). Furthermore, our model predictions qualitatively match electrochemistry expectations.