27.02.2017 change 27.02.2017

Scientists at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology are building an electron microscope on a chip

The world\'s first miniature electron microscope MEMS, developed using silicon and glass micromachining techniques, is the goal of researchers at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. It will be a portable device with the size of a few centimetres.

Information about the project has appeared on the Wroclaw University of Technology website.

"Classic electron microscopes are vacuum devices, which have large dimensions; they are heavy and expensive. Because of that, they are used only by specialized laboratories" - explained Prof. Anna Górecka-Drzazga from the Faculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.

According to Górecka-Drzazga, several scientific centres in the world are working on miniaturizing individual components of a microscope, but no one has managed to combine all components into one functional unit. "The problem is developing a coherent technology, and most importantly, producing high vacuum in a very small volume. We have already overcome some of these difficulties in our earlier research" - explained Prof. Górecka-Drzazga.

Her team at the Department of Microengineering and Photovoltaics has developed the world\'s first MEMS ion-sorption vacuum pump. "It is a really big achievement. Even the pump developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the operation of which is based on the same phenomenon, does not produce a high vacuum" - said the professor. She added that this innovative invention had already been patented in Poland.

The researchers decided to try to combine the micropump with other miniature devices: first they want to develop a MEMS electron microscope, and in the future an X-ray tube and mass spectrometer.

The researcher said that the current development of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) techniques enables miniaturization of many devices. "Modern cars, mobile phones, digital cameras and many other devices are based on microsystems, miniature sensors and actuators equipped with modern electronics" - said the professor.

"We want to design all the components of the microscope in the form of MEMS devices and integrate them into a single chip. We will use the technology that we have already mastered, the technique of forming spatial structures in silicon and glass. The source of electrons will be a silicon cathode coated with carbon nanotubes, to which we will attach an electron optical column made of several electrically isolated silicon electrodes. They will control the focus of the electron beam on the sample" - described Prof. Górecka-Drzazga. Other parts of the microscope include sample observation chamber - with a very thin membrane transparent for electrons, an image-recording system and the aforementioned vacuum pump.

Work on the microscope is being performed under a grant from the National Science Centre. "This project involves basic research. We will prepare a demo version of the device, the parameters of which will certainly not be optimal yet" - noted Prof. Anna Górecka-Drzazga. She added that mass production of such a device would require establishing an international consortium. "Polish industry unfortunately does not invest in the development of microsystems" - added the head of the research group at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.

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