Advanced Imaging Core Facility (AICF) was established at Skoltech in September 2018 with the main goal to provide top-level advanced electron microscopy services to support research in both academic and industrial sectors at Skoltech, within the Skolkovo ecosystem, and for external partners.
The Facility is equipped with three electron microscopes, including an aberration-corrected Titan Themis Z transmission electron microscope with a monochromated electron source, Super-X system for energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, a high-resolution EELS spectrometer, electron tomography setup and versatile set of sample holders.
Dual beam system Helios G4 Plasma focused ion beam machine and Quattro S scanning electron microscope provide possibilities for site-specific TEM sample preparations, slice-and-view tomography, surface imaging, morphology studies and compositional analysis. Also AICF includes lab for sample preparation for electron microscopies equipped with wide range of equipment such as LaboPol, LectroPol-5, TenuPol-5, MultiPrep, Ion Beam Milling and etc.
Nowadays, transmission electron microscopy is one of the most powerful instrument for structural and analytical investigation of a wide range of materials, including metals, alloys, powders, coatings, and many other materials. Using various electron microscopy techniques, such as HRTEM, STEM, EFTEM, EELS, EDX, etc., it is possible to obtain comprehensive information on the crystal structure of the material, the presence and type of defects of the crystal lattice, the qualitative and quantitative chemical composition of the material, the degree of oxidation, etc.