Instrumental development on the Jeol NeoARM TEM for rapid and low-dose mapping of EELS and strain fields

Job description: The primary objective of our Post-Doctoral Researcher position is to focus on instrumental development for the NeoARM 200F. Collaborating closely with a research software engineer already familiar with TEM automation, the team will be tasked with the automation of alignment, interface, and data stream processing for the filter and various detectors to enable cutting-edge and valuable applications. The first part of the project will focus on the rapid, precise, low-dose mapping of material strain at the nanometer scale. To achieve this, we are utilizing Nanomegas ASTAR along with other universal scan generators to acquire scanning precession electron diffraction (SPED) data. CEA has a well-established expertise in strain mapping in TEM [e.g., D. Cooper et al., Micron 80 (2016) 145]. Currently, there is a strong desire to advance the boundaries of this technique to generate real-time, high-quality results. Following the complete integration of the NeoARM for strain analysis, we will assess the advantages provided by components such as the TimePix3 detector and energy filtering for diffraction patterns. Simultaneously, the techniques developed for the SPED datasets will be extended other applications such as orientation/phase or electric field mapping. The second part of the project will focus on the TimePix3 detector for electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). In frame-based acquisition mode, the performance of STEM-EELS using the TimePix3 detector will be assessed and highlighted (e.g., simultaneous EELS/EDX tomography). New strategies to enhance the EELS signal-to-noise ratio for direct electron cameras will also be explored. The exploitation of the TimePix3 in event-based mode, including EELS/EDX co-incidence and low-dose, high-speed imaging will also enter into the project as appropriate.