The equipment is very sensitive, so it has to remain as stable as possible. To avoid vibrations or temperature changes, the microscope is enclosed in an additional wooden box. Also, the equipment is operated remotely, so manipulations on the actual machine remain minimal.
An electron microscope produces a magnified, detailed image of a sample. The difference with an optical microscope is that, instead of a light source going through the specimen to observe, the machine uses a beam of electrons and achieves much greater magnification.
Like most electron microscopes, Qu- Ant-EM offers a magnification of about 1,000,000 times, but, more importantly, its resolution is extremely high: it can distinguish details of about 50 picometres, ie at the level of the atom.
In addition, the microscope boasts a powerful correction system, both in its hardware and its software, that corrects aberrations and generates exceptionally neat images in two as well as in three dimensions.
“It was already possible to observe atoms,” notes Professor Gustaaf Van Tendeloo, director of EMAT, the research group that hosts Qu-Ant-EM in Antwerp. Now, with Qu-Ant-EM, scientists get much clearer images and can study the properties of materials in great detail, without damaging the samples. In particular, this technology will allow scientists to study how the surface of a material influences its properties and behaviour. “For instance, silicon is usually a grey material, but very tiny particles of silicon take a different position and a red colour,” Van Tendeloo explains.
Qu-Ant-EM was inaugurated at the end of June, and four team members are currently training to become expert users of the microscope; gradually, they will be able to train others to use this one-of-its-kind machine. “If you’re used to driving a car from a given brand and change to another brand, you will get used to the slight differences within minutes. But this is like driving a Formula 1,” smiles Van Tendeloo. The research centre EMAT (Electron Microscopy for Materials Science) belongs to the department of physics of the University of Antwerp and is the core group of the NANO excellence centre. It focuses on the study of materials using different electron microscopy techniques.
EMAT coordinates a network funded by the EU called ESTEEM (Enabling Science and Technology through European Electronic Microscopy). Any European scientist who wants to use one of the network’s microscopes can submit a short proposal. If the request is accepted, the researcher is free to use the machine for a given length of time in order to gather data for his or her own research.
Flanders Today is a 
11°C / 26°C
