{"id":3862,"date":"2025-12-15T18:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rqmem.recherche.usherbrooke.ca\/?page_id=3862"},"modified":"2026-07-31T20:54:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:54:37","slug":"projets","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rqmem.recherche.usherbrooke.ca\/en\/projets\/","title":{"rendered":"Research projects on electron microscopes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n
\n\t\n\t

\n\t\tProjects\t<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Projects on electron microscopes, funded by the Quebec Netowork of Electron Microscopy for Materials, contribute to advances in microscopy and in the field of advanced materials. Research in electron microscopy strongly rely on access to electron microscopes, as offered by RQMEM<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n\t\n\t

\n\t\tHere are the projects funded by the Quebec Network for Electron Microscopy of Materials\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projects on electron microscopes for the year 2025-2026<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n\t\n
\n\t\n
\n\t\n\t

\n\t\tDevelopment of an in-operando electrochemical stage for the Quattro scanning electron microscope<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An electrochemical stage integrated to the scanning electron microscope Quattro<\/a> from Thermo Fisher Scientific is now available to all Qu\u00e9bec Researchers. This allows taking electrochemical measures in situ<\/em> or in operando<\/em>, particularly for the cyclovoltametry of solid electroactive materials and the cycling of battery prototypes. Quattro's users can also access the glove box (BAG) of the central XPS installations at Polytechnique Montr\u00e9al, which assures transfer of air or water sensitive samples to the Quattro in controlled conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Developping this infrastructure was realized jointly by members of the Doll\u00e9 Group, including Steve Rousselet (University of Montr\u00e9al), and professionals from CM2<\/sup><\/a>. Their work was focused on commissionning and validating the electrochemical module, as well as resolving technical difficulties met with the stage, even though the design was initially adapted by Thermo Fisher for this type of measures. This process needed suplementary methodological development, electrochemical tests, programmation adjusting and a rigorous performance monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The electrochemical system of the Quattro platform is now fully operational, and the Doll\u00e9 team succeded in doing tests in real conditions on lithium metal batteries. (M. Costalin et coll. J. Electrochem. Soc. 172 030505 (2025) and (idem. 171 100505 (2025)). The interface between BAG and SEM, including the transfer system, was completed in January 2023. This functionality, allowing the introduction of samples without air exposure, is then a recent evolution of the Quattro electron microscope. Adapating BAG to the transfer module was done by the technical staff of University of Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n\t\n
\n\t\n\t

\n\t\tEBSD measurements for non-conductive materials<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EBSD measurements of non-conductive materials are not possible in high-vacuum microscopes due to sample charging. The deposition of conductive coatings, such as carbon or gold, is necessary to reduce charging; however, these coatings prevent the acquisition of indexable Kikuchi patterns needed for EBSD analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of the current research project is to develop a methodology for the formation of conductive coatings that are thick enough to eliminate charging while remaining thin enough to allow the acquisition of high-quality Kikuchi patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A set of non-conductive samples will be polished and ion milled to a surface quality suitable for EBSD measurement. Carbon and gold coatings will then be deposited to a thickness sufficient to suppress charging and to form a dense, uniform conductive layer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently, the coating thickness will be gradually reduced by ion milling to improve the quality of the Kikuchi patterns. After each milling step, the quality of the resulting Kikuchi patterns will be evaluated until the best performance is reached. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this project the following parameters will be studied:<\/p>\n\n\n\n