In Situ and Operando Technical EquipMent

ISO-TEM develops advanced sample holders for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), enabling cutting-edge biasing, in-situ, and operando experiments. Our solutions simplify complex workflows by integrating preparation, transfer, and analysis into one seamless process. This allows researchers to study materials and devices under real operating conditions with high precision and stability. By pushing the boundaries of in-situ electron microscopy, ISO-TEM empowers scientists to capture dynamic processes directly at the nanoscale.

Bildmarke ISO-TEM
Bildmarke ISO-TEM
Microwave Holder ModelMicrowave Sample Holder

Microwave-Holder

The Microwave-Holder is a high-performance sample holder for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), enabling controlled microwave stimulation during in situ experiments. ISO-TEM develops customized holder solutions tailored to specific research requirements. Currently, three holder systems with different specifications are available, while existing designs can be adapted and entirely new holder concepts can be developed for individual applications.

TEM + Microwave

A New Dimension in In-Situ Electron Microscopy

Transmission electron microscopy reveals matter at extraordinary spatial resolution. Microwaves add a new dimension: the ability to actively drive, manipulate and interrogate materials while observing their response inside the microscope.

By bringing high-frequency signals directly to the specimen, TEM can move beyond static characterization towards experiments in which structure, chemistry, electromagnetic fields and dynamics are investigated together. Microwave excitation enables techniques such as electron spin resonance and ferromagnetic resonance, while synchronized excitation opens pathways towards ultra-short-pulse and time-resolved measurements. Combined with electrical biasing, high currents and high voltages, it becomes possible to study devices increasingly close to their real operating conditions.

The possibilities become even broader when microwave excitation is combined with liquid or gas environments, controlled media flow and temperature control. Catalytic reactions, electrochemical processes and other transformations could be stimulated and observed as they happen. Looking further ahead, the same combination of high-frequency control, cryogenic environments and atomic-scale characterization may provide entirely new tools for investigating quantum materials and quantum devices.

By bringing high-frequency signals directly to the specimen, TEM can move beyond static characterization towards experiments in which structure, chemistry, electromagnetic fields and dynamics are investigated together. Microwave excitation enables techniques such as electron spin resonance and ferromagnetic resonance, while synchronized excitation opens pathways towards ultra-short-pulse and time-resolved measurements. Combined with electrical biasing, high currents and high voltages, it becomes possible to study devices increasingly close to their real operating conditions.

The possibilities become even broader when microwave excitation is combined with liquid or gas environments, controlled media flow and temperature control. Catalytic reactions, electrochemical processes and other transformations could be stimulated and observed as they happen. Looking further ahead, the same combination of high-frequency control, cryogenic environments and atomic-scale characterization may provide entirely new tools for investigating quantum materials and quantum devices.

Feature Rondell Ultra Short Pulses Quantum computing

FAQ – Advanced In-Situ TEM & Operando Applications

General In-Situ, Operando and Advanced TEM

In-situ TEM enables scientists to observe structural, chemical or functional changes in materials directly inside a transmission electron microscope while a controlled stimulus or environmental condition is applied. Depending on the experiment, this can include heating, cooling, electrical biasing, mechanical stimulation, gas or liquid environments, magnetic fields, or RF and microwave excitation. In-situ TEM therefore reveals dynamic processes that conventional before-and-after characterization can miss.

Operando TEM studies a material or device while it is actively performing its intended function. The goal is not only to apply a stimulus, but to reproduce relevant operating conditions and correlate nanoscale structure, chemistry and functionality during operation. Operando TEM is particularly relevant for batteries, catalysis, electrochemistry, electronic devices, energy materials and other functional materials.

In-situ TEM observes a sample while an external stimulus or controlled environment is applied. Operando TEM goes a step further by studying the material while it is performing its intended function under application-relevant conditions. Both approaches provide access to dynamic processes that conventional post-mortem analysis cannot reveal.

Advanced TEM combines high-resolution TEM or STEM imaging and spectroscopy with specialized sample environments, electron-optical methods, automation and external excitation. These capabilities allow researchers to investigate structure, chemistry, electromagnetic fields and dynamic material responses beyond conventional static TEM experiments.

An in-situ TEM sample holder is a specialized specimen holder that brings one or more controlled stimuli directly to the TEM sample. Depending on the design, an in-situ TEM sample holder may provide electrical biasing, heating, cryogenic cooling, gas or liquid flow, mechanical actuation, magnetic fields, or RF and microwave signals while maintaining the requirements of electron microscopy.

Time-resolved and ultrafast TEM experiments investigate material dynamics on timescales that are inaccessible to conventional imaging. Fast electrical, optical, RF or microwave excitation can be synchronized with electron detection or pulsed electron beams to study structural, electronic and magnetic processes from nanoseconds toward picoseconds and below, depending on the microscope and experimental method.

Radio-frequency (RF) and microwave excitation can be delivered to a sample inside the TEM through suitable high-frequency transmission structures integrated into the specimen holder and sample environment. This enables controlled electromagnetic stimulation while TEM or STEM is used to observe the resulting nanoscale response. Relevant applications include magnetic resonance, high-frequency device physics, time-resolved experiments and dynamically driven material systems.

Combining microwave or RF excitation with TEM links high-frequency stimulation directly to nanoscale structural and functional characterization. Researchers can investigate how materials respond while they are being driven, rather than measuring the excitation and the structure in separate experiments. This is especially useful for magnetism, spintronics, quantum materials, electronic devices and other systems whose properties depend on high-frequency dynamics.

Yes. In-situ and operando electrochemistry can be performed in TEM using specialized liquid-cell or solid-state sample environments together with electrical biasing. This allows processes such as electrode degradation, interfacial reactions, phase transformations and dendrite formation to be correlated directly with nanoscale structural and chemical changes.

Liquid-cell TEM uses electron-transparent windows to confine a liquid around the sample while allowing electron microscopy imaging and spectroscopy. It enables in-situ and operando studies of electrochemistry, batteries, corrosion, nanoparticle growth, biological or soft-matter systems and reactions in liquid environments. Electrical biasing, heating or other stimuli can also be integrated into suitable liquid-cell TEM platforms.

Gas-cell TEM and environmental TEM enable materials to be investigated in controlled gaseous environments rather than only under conventional high vacuum. These methods are particularly important for catalysis, oxidation, reduction, corrosion, materials degradation and gas-solid reactions. Dedicated gas-cell holders or environmental microscope configurations can reproduce application-relevant temperature, pressure and gas-composition conditions.

Advanced TEM can characterize the atomic structure, interfaces, defects, fields and dynamic phenomena relevant to quantum materials and quantum devices. Electrical interfaces, RF or microwave excitation and cryogenic sample environments can extend TEM toward experiments on systems whose properties depend strongly on temperature, high-frequency control or nanoscale structural perfection.

Catalysts often change structurally and chemically under reaction conditions. In-situ and operando TEM can follow these changes while temperature and gas or liquid environments are controlled, helping researchers correlate nanoscale catalyst structure with activity, selectivity and degradation. Combining environmental TEM with additional electrical or RF excitation can open further experimental possibilities.

Energy materials such as battery electrodes, electrocatalysts, fuel-cell materials and functional materials undergo complex structural and chemical changes during operation. In-situ TEM, operando TEM, liquid-cell TEM, electrical biasing and controlled thermal or gaseous environments can reveal these processes directly at the nanoscale and help connect material structure to device performance.

A broad range of materials can be investigated using advanced TEM, including metals, semiconductors, catalysts, battery materials, magnetic materials, quantum materials, ceramics, nanostructures and electronic devices. The appropriate TEM sample holder and sample environment depend on the scientific question, material geometry and required stimulus.

Yes. Lorentz TEM, electron holography and other advanced electron microscopy methods provide access to magnetic structures and fields with high spatial resolution. When combined with RF or microwave excitation, TEM can also investigate driven magnetic dynamics and phenomena related to ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), spin waves and nanoscale spin systems.

Cryogenic TEM, often referred to as a subset of cryo-EM, uses low-temperature sample environments to preserve sensitive states or investigate temperature-dependent phenomena. In materials science and physics, cryogenic TEM can be important for superconductors, quantum materials, magnetic systems, phase transitions and electronic devices, while cryo-electron microscopy is also widely used in structural biology.

Advanced in-situ TEM provides direct insight into how materials change under controlled stimulation or realistic environments. By combining TEM imaging and spectroscopy with electrical, thermal, magnetic, mechanical, cryogenic, gas, liquid, RF or microwave excitation, researchers can correlate nanoscale structure with dynamic function across applications such as catalysis, electrochemistry, energy, magnetism and quantum materials.

ISO-TEM Technology and Applications

ISO-TEM develops advanced TEM sample-holder platforms and experimental interfaces for in-situ and operando transmission electron microscopy. The modular approach is designed to bring additional functionality directly to the sample, including RF and microwave excitation, electrical stimulation, temperature control and controlled environments. The objective is to enable researchers to study materials while dynamic processes are taking place.

Many commercial in-situ TEM holders provide highly developed individual capabilities such as heating, biasing, cryogenic cooling, mechanical testing or gas and liquid environments. ISO-TEM focuses on extending this landscape with modular multi-stimulus platforms and, in particular, high-frequency RF and microwave functionality that can be combined with other sample-environment capabilities. This creates experimental combinations that are difficult or unavailable with fixed-function holder architectures.

ISO-TEM is designed to expose TEM samples to controlled stimuli while their response is investigated by electron microscopy. Depending on the holder configuration and development stage, relevant functions include RF or microwave excitation, electrical signals, heating or cooling, gas or liquid environments and other application-specific interfaces. The modular architecture is intended to adapt the experimental platform to the scientific question.

Operando TEM aims to reproduce relevant operating conditions directly at the sample while structure and function are measured. ISO-TEM develops the hardware interfaces required to combine multiple experimental parameters in the TEM, for example electrical control, temperature, media environments and high-frequency excitation. Specific operando configurations are tailored to the material system and application.

ISO-TEM integrates high-frequency transmission paths into the TEM sample-holder architecture so that external RF or microwave sources can be connected to structures close to the electron-transparent sample. This makes it possible to excite a sample directly inside the microscope while maintaining the mechanical, vacuum and electron-optical constraints of TEM. RF-TEM and microwave-TEM experiments can then be combined with imaging, diffraction or spectroscopy.

An RF TEM holder is a specimen holder designed to transmit radio-frequency or microwave signals to a sample inside the transmission electron microscope. Unlike conventional electrical-biasing holders that are optimized primarily for DC or lower-frequency signals, an RF-compatible TEM holder must control high-frequency transmission, impedance, losses and electromagnetic fields close to the sample. ISO-TEM develops this capability as a core element of its platform.

Yes. RF and microwave excitation are particularly relevant for magnetic materials because they can drive magnetization dynamics and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Combined with magnetic TEM techniques, this creates opportunities to investigate nanoscale magnetic modes, spin-wave phenomena and dynamically driven magnetic structures while retaining access to structural information.

RF and microwave sample environments can also enable experiments related to electron spin resonance, also known as electron paramagnetic resonance (ESR/EPR). Integrating resonant excitation with TEM creates the prospect of correlating spin-sensitive spectroscopic information with nanoscale structure and local material environments. The exact measurement configuration depends on the resonator, sample and microscope setup.

Quantum materials and quantum devices often require combinations of low temperature, electrical control and RF or microwave excitation. ISO-TEM’s modular architecture is intended to bring these parameters closer to the TEM sample so that structural characterization can be combined with controlled device-relevant excitation. This opens a pathway toward increasingly realistic in-situ and operando studies of quantum systems.

ISO-TEM is designed with dynamic and time-dependent experiments in mind. RF, microwave and fast electrical excitation can be synchronized with suitable time-resolved TEM detection or pulsed-beam methods, allowing repeatable sample excitation to be correlated with nanoscale imaging or diffraction. The achievable temporal resolution is determined by the complete microscope, excitation and detection system.

The modular ISO-TEM concept is intended to support electrical interfaces and controlled liquid environments required for in-situ and operando electrochemistry. Such configurations can be relevant for batteries, electrocatalysts, corrosion and other electrochemical systems. Combining liquid-cell TEM with additional electrical, thermal or high-frequency functionality is an important direction for multi-stimulus experiments.

ISO-TEM is intended to support gas-flow and environmental sample environments for in-situ and operando catalysis research. Controlled gaseous conditions can be combined with temperature control and, where scientifically useful, additional electrical or RF excitation. This can help correlate catalyst structure, reaction environment and dynamic response within a single TEM experiment.

ISO-TEM targets energy-material experiments in which structure and function need to be measured under controlled operating conditions. Relevant examples include battery materials, electrocatalysts, fuel-cell materials and magnetic materials for energy conversion. Depending on the application, electrical biasing, heating, cooling, gas or liquid environments and RF excitation can be integrated into the experimental workflow.

Combining cryogenic temperatures with RF or microwave excitation is a key development direction for ISO-TEM. Such a cryogenic RF TEM holder can be relevant for quantum materials, superconducting systems, low-temperature electronic devices and magnetic dynamics. Specific temperature ranges and RF performance depend on the holder configuration and experimental requirements.

The modular platform is being developed to combine high-frequency excitation with controlled media environments. RF plus gas-flow or liquid-cell functionality could enable experiments in which reactions, electrochemical processes or other environment-dependent phenomena are stimulated or probed electromagnetically while being observed in the TEM. The required cell, sealing and RF geometry are tailored to the application.

Yes – modularity and multi-stimulus experiments are central to the ISO-TEM concept. Depending on the application and holder configuration, functions may include RF or microwave excitation, electrical biasing, heating, cooling, controlled gas or liquid flow, mechanical actuation, magnetic excitation and additional sensor or control lines. Not every combination is identical in maturity, so the final configuration is selected around the experiment rather than a fixed feature set.

ISO-TEM is intended for a broad range of materials and devices, including quantum materials, magnetic materials, battery and energy materials, catalysts, semiconductors, nanomaterials, functional materials and electronic or photonic devices. The sample carrier, holder geometry and experimental interfaces are adapted to the material and the required in-situ or operando conditions.

Cryogenic and low-temperature TEM are important parts of the ISO-TEM development roadmap. Low-temperature sample environments can be combined with other functions where required, particularly for quantum materials, magnetic systems and temperature-dependent phase transitions. The appropriate cooling concept depends on the target temperature, microscope and additional stimuli.

Compatibility, Custom Development and Integration

ISO-TEM’s modular approach is intended for integration with established TEM platforms from manufacturers such as Thermo Fisher Scientific / FEI, JEOL, Hitachi, Nion, TESCAN, Delong and Zeiss. Mechanical interfaces, pole-piece geometry, vacuum requirements and available feedthroughs differ between microscope models, so compatibility is evaluated for the specific instrument and experimental configuration.

The aim is to implement as much functionality as possible through the sample holder and external interfaces rather than through major modification of the TEM column. The exact integration effort depends on the microscope, holder geometry, required RF connections, cooling system, media supply and other experimental interfaces. Compatibility is therefore assessed case by case.

Yes. A central advantage of the modular approach is that the sample-holder configuration can be adapted to a specific scientific or industrial use case. This can include custom sample carriers, RF structures, electrical contacts, temperature control, gas or liquid interfaces, sensor connections or combinations of multiple stimuli. Custom development starts from the microscope constraints and the experimental question.

Potentially, yes. Integration depends on chip dimensions, electrical contacts, membrane geometry, thermal requirements, sealing, RF design and mechanical compatibility with the holder. ISO-TEM’s modular architecture is intended to support application-specific sample carriers and to enable cooperation with chip and MEMS suppliers where appropriate.

No. ISO-TEM does not manufacture complete transmission electron microscopes. We develop specialized TEM sample holders, sample environments and experimental interfaces that extend the capabilities of existing electron microscopes for advanced in-situ, operando, RF, cryogenic and multi-stimulus experiments.

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