Drexel University researchers are combining a new direct detection camera with electron-loss spectroscopy in order to view the composition and structure of materials in a more detailed manner, a university release said.
The research team published the findings in the journal Nature Scientific Reports and suggested that applying a direct detection sensor to standard electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) will improve scientists' ability to study materials' structure and chemistry at the nanometer level, the release said.
Generally, electron microscopes are used to capture data, but oftentimes the screen is too small to view the entire projection. With the direct detection camera and an image filter, a clearer picture of chemical structures and compositions can be seen, the release said.
“EELS is a popular technique that has been around for a while, however, the noise present in EELS is a major problem,” Jamie Hart, a doctoral researcher and coauthor of the paper, said in the release. “By applying direct detection to EELS, we can greatly reduce the experimental noise, which will improve over real-time observation of dynamic processes, such as tracking the motion of lithium ions in li-on (lithium-ion) batteries, and it will aid the study of sensitive materials, like biological matter.”
Alerts Sign-up