Fusion AX
Key Features
- Room temperature up to 1200°C
- Friction-free double tilting
- Electrical resolution down to single picoamps
- Unmatched temperature uniformity
- Combined temperature and electrical experiments
- Live physical drift mitigation, dose analysis, and offline data analysis
Manufacturer
Protochips
Protochips are committed to advancing the capabilities of researchers worldwide by providing front-to-back workflow solutions for transmission electron microscopy.
Fusion AX Introduction
Flexible in situ environments: A wide range of heating and electrical MEMS devices offers flexibility for any sample type.
Machine vision software suite: Integrated machine vision software manages many data collection tasks in the background so you can focus on the experiment at hand.
Front-to-back workflow: Each step of the research process, from sample preparation to data management and analysis, has been considered to maximise rigor and reproducibility.
Safety: Safety of the TEM is top priority – none of our systems require disassembly that would put the TEM at risk to enable different imaging techniques or perform maintenance.
Triton AX Workflow
Prep
- Precise dropcasting
- Reproducible FIB deposition
- Sample screening
- Global scientific support
Collect
- Live physical drift control
- Dose quantification
- Metadata indexing
- Integrated notebook
Analyse
- Rapid uniform heating and quenching
- Atomic-resolution imaging while tilting
- Quantitative electrical measurements
Publish
- Consolidated visualisation
- Fast filtering
- Historical experimental records
- RDM/FAIR compliant
Sample Supports: E-chips
The Fusion AX solution uses custom-made microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) as sample supports to add temperature and electrical stimuli within the holder. All MEMS devices (E-chips™) are designed, fabricated, and quality checked in-house.
Uniquely utilising silicon carbide as a heating membrane instead of the traditional metal coil, Fusion AX E-chips provide superior uniformity and accuracy to other MEMS chips on the market. In addition, proprietary dielectric materials minimise electrical leakage for accurate nanoscale electrical characterisation.
Axon Machine Vision Software Platform
TEM Processing Software
There are many variables to control and record during an in situ TEM experiment and the AXON machine vision software platform provides automation without taking away control:
- Live physical drift correction
- Constant parameter recording and indexing (TEM, camera, and in situ parameters)
- Real-time electron dose calculations
- Electron dose exposure tracking and mapping
- Continuous recording for instant look-back.
You leave the TEM lab with a fully drift corrected and metadata-aligned dataset with all parameters recorded, notes integrated, and ready for trend analysis and movie creation.
- Learn faster
- Share easier
- Publish sooner
- Increase reproducibility
- Spend less time and money at the TEM
- RDM/FAIR compliant
Applications
Fuel Cells
Carbon materials decorated with nanoparticles can be used for low-temperature fuel cell applications. In situ annealing using the Fusion AX holder can resolve and quantitatively analyse the dynamics of Pt nanoparticles.
Solid-state Batteries
Lithium based solid-state batteries are attractive next generation storage devices because of their high energy densities, long cycle lives, and high operational voltages. In this research the Fusion AX system was used to investigate the lithiation and delithiation process at various capacities.
2D Materials
Atomically thin 2D materials are finding their way to a number of applications due to their diverse electronic properties as semiconductors, metals, and superconductors. Fusion AX heating allows to investigate the formation and restructuring of such materials. In this case 2D MoS2 monolayers were transformed into 3D nanocrystals on a graphene coated chip in situ.
Materials Science
The Fusion AX system can be used to visualize a large variety of particle synthesis, alloying, morphology changes and other fundamental research questions. In the example on the left binary metallic nanocrystals were heated to observe the sublimation behaviour between Au and Ag.
Gas Sensors
The Fusion AX system can be operated in environmental TEM environments to test materials that can be used for gas sensing applications. The E-chips are then created with a specialised closed loop calibration file made specifically for E-TEM or ex-situ experiments.
Semiconductors
A material needs to have low resistivity and a low formation temperature to produce good semiconductors. Materials such as metal silicides have these properties and are therefore widely researched. NiSi materials were investigated on the left side to observe dynamic behaviours at annealing temperatures.
Solar Cells
Solar cells have been one of the resources that can help with the clean energy generation to displace fossil fuels. Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have been researched for their high power conversion efficiency. The solar cell materials can be investigated under continuous bias using electron microscopy to observe amorphization.
Downloads
Fusion AX Brochure
Related Products
Service Support
Comprehensive repairs and servicing
Annual Support Programs
Your metrology instrumentation is a major investment that is critical to your business operation and success. In today’s competitive climate, it is more important than ever to extend the functionality and peak performance of your metrology equipment years beyond the expiration of your factory warranty. CN Tech’s Support Programs will help ensure that your investment is protected, and that you and your instrument’s are always operating at peak performance.
With over 20 years’ experience servicing and repairing you can be assured that your system is in safe hands. The independent services we offer include system relocation, maintenance visits, parts and consumables, and break down interventions.
CN Tech’s Support Programs are an economical way to guarantee optimal working condition:
- Annual Preventive Maintenance
- Priority Technical Assistance
- Preferred Parts Availability
- On-Site User Training
- Remote Diagnostics
- No surprise repair expense and much more!
Support Contact Example
An example of our service and support contracts are shown below:
Metrology & Instrumentation Annual Support Programs 2024/25
CN Tech's Support Programs will help ensure that your investment is protected, and that you and your instrument’s are always operating at peak performance.