First Demonstration of CL Using a Liquid Cell Holder

Attolight is proud to announce the successful demonstration of STEM-CL with an in-situ liquid cell holder from Insight Chips!

A few months ago Insight Chips traveled to Argonne National Lab to perform a first-of-its-kind experiment: cathodoluminescence spectroscopy on a liquid sample in STEM. This feat was made possible thanks to clever engineering from Insight Chips, who created a new holder design for high-tilt and CL applications, and the pioneering spirit of the Electron and X-ray Microscopy Group at Argonne National Lab, who have been pushing the limits of what's possible in STEM-CL with their Attolight Mönch.

To start, the team loaded fluorescein, a fluorescent protein, into the 4-inlet nano channel flow holder, featuring 400 nm thick nano channels with 20 nm SiN membranes on either side.

Using the Attolight Mönch in collection mode, they were able to detect broadband CL emission from the protein solution in the wavelength range of 475 - 550 nm. However, not all of the nano channels emitted the same; nano channel 2 (counting from the top) developed a bubble, which appears as a region with lower emission in that wavelength range, as seen in the GIF below.

The presence of the bubble was confirmed by a follow-up HAADF image.

This demonstration shows that the Attolight Mönch CL system is sensitive enough to detect the spectral signature of beam-sensitive biological solutions and serves as an inspiring proof of concept for further development in the vast field of in-situ TEM.

We'd like to congratulate the team at Insight Chips, who worked diligently to make their Nano Channel Liquid Cell Holder compatible with the Mönch. And a big shoutout to Thomas Gage and JG Wen from Argonne National Lab as well for hosting and facilitating the experiment. We love seeing new developments from our customers and collaborators!