Transmission Scanning Electron Microscopy for Materials Characterization
This grant aims to develop new low-energy electron microscopy techniques in SEM to better characterize materials by improving analysis, reducing damage, and enabling in-situ studies.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
NRC Research Associateship Programs has archived this opportunity.
Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: February 1, 2025 | August 1, 2025
Funding Amounts: Stipend approximately $82,764 per year with $3,000 travel allowance; typical appointment duration 2 years.
Summary: Supports postdoctoral research to develop low-energy transmission electron microscopy techniques in SEM for advanced materials characterization, including imaging, diffraction, and spectroscopy.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens holding a doctoral degree within the last 5 years; research conducted onsite at NIST Boulder, CO; requires prior contact with research advisers.
Description
This postdoctoral fellowship opportunity at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focuses on advancing low-energy transmission electron diffraction, imaging, and spectroscopy within the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The research aims to determine microscopic structure, defect types, and interface character in a variety of materials including structural materials, ultrathin films, nanoparticles, and potentially biological systems.
By adapting transmission electron microscopy (TEM) concepts to SEM, the project seeks to enhance quantitative analytical capabilities, improve crystallographic analysis related to defects and texture in thin samples, and enable broader quantitative in situ and in operando studies. The lower beam energies used in SEM compared to conventional TEM increase electron scattering cross sections, resulting in higher contrast from very small material volumes, and reduce beam-induced knock-on damage, allowing longer imaging times with fewer artifacts.
Research activities include developing and demonstrating diffraction, imaging, and spectroscopy methods on challenging material systems, modeling electron scattering and damage formation, and integrating multiple characterization techniques to capture simultaneous signals.
The NIST laboratory provides access to advanced instrumentation including three scanning electron microscopes (variable-pressure and environmental types), automated electron backscatter diffraction systems, multiple SEM-based transmission electron detectors, two 200 kV transmission electron microscopes, a dual-beam focused ion beam system, and specimen preparation facilities.
