Development and Application of a Heating System for In-Situ Scanning Electron Microscope

Abstract

In-situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) at high temperatures is essential for investigating materials’ properties. This study designed a custom-built in-situ heating system to enhance the SEM high-temperature imaging. A heater with a double helical tungsten filament was designed to heat to high temperatures. A bias-voltage control system automatic adjusting according to sample temperature was designed to suppress the thermal electrons during heating. We then designed a high-temperature secondary-electron detector equipped with a variable visible-light filter to reduce the influence of visible and infrared light at high temperatures. Finally, cobalt’s melting and crystallization processes were observed, confirming that our designed in-situ heating system could image at 1500°C with a resolution of 40.78nm. Using our heating system, we also smelted the ferrotitanium alloy based on titanium and iron. These results demonstrated that our heating system provides technical support to investigate materials’ properties and develop new materials served at high temperatures.

Keywords: In-situ SEM, High temperature, Tungsten filament, Secondary-electron detector, Crystallization