Characterisation of materials under thermal and electrical stimuli using in-situ electron microscopy and MEMS technology

Abstract

Abstract To incorporate nanomaterials into functional devices we need to fully understand the materials characteristics. This includes electrical, optical, mechanical and most important for us the thermal properties. The focus of my work is developing techniques to allow the in-situ electron microscopy characterisation of materials for the Prof Nicolosi group in CRANN. In this thesis I am presenting my work describing some new and novel techniques to characterise and synthesise nanomaterials. I will demonstrate new methods to characterise the physical properties and characteristics of the Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) heating chip during heating experiments, I will show how a MEMS heating chip can be modified by circuit edit using Focused Ion Beam (FIB) to enable electrical measurements in-situ in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). I will outline a new novel technique for lamella fabrication and the transfer of the lamella to the MEMS heating chip to enable heating experiments on thin films. Developing controlled and reproducible material synthesis techniques have become a major goal, where the nanoscale dimensions and morphology directly determine the properties of the materials. This thesis details my work characterizing materials such as Black Phosphorus (BP) and Lead Oxide (PbO) under thermal and electrical stimuli using in-situ electron microscopy and MEMS technology. Keywords

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Transmission Electron Microscope In-situ electron microscopy Nanomaterials