Materials Science

Advances in materials science

Innovative materials play essential roles in safety, clean energy, transportation, human health, and industrial productivity. To fuel continued innovation, researchers want to deepen their understanding of the physical and chemical properties of materials (morphological, structural, magnetic, thermal, and mechanical) from the macro- to nanoscale. Whether discovering new materials, solving analytical problems, improving processes, or assuring product quality, electron microscopy is capable of providing insight at all scales and modalities. The discoveries resulting from materials science research help enhance researchers’ ability to successfully correlate structural properties with functional performance. In turn, this insight helps commercial enterprises innovate products and processes to gain important time-to-market and cost advantages.

Materials characterization

Analytical solutions, including electron microscopy and spectroscopy, from Thermo Fisher Scientific can help you address your most pressing challenges, including;

Developing new functional materials that meet the demands of today’s unique social and economic challenges
Supporting the discovery of new materials with reproducible data from complementary techniques
Solving materials and method development challenges to improve processes and investigate product defects
Publishing groundbreaking discoveries, writing winning grant proposals, or patenting novel materials
Assuring defects are rejected before they reach customers
Taking your ideas to market quickly and keeping your company competitive

Defect analysis of a lithium ion battery cathode. Serial sectioning and imaging with Plasma FIB DualBeam followed by digital 3D reconstruction using Avizo software provides a highly detailed model of the sample.

Scanning Electron Microscopy for Materials Science

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a powerful imaging technique that uses focused beams of electrons to produce high-resolution, three-dimensional images of sample surfaces at the nanoscale. This method is essential for researchers seeking detailed topographical, compositional, and morphological insights into a wide range of materials.

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Industrial manufacturing product selector

The product selector is here to assist you in choosing the most suitable Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) system and software for your research. Find out in a few minutes which SEM best suits your research application:

Materials Science learning center

Access a targeted collection of application notes, case studies, videos, webinars, and white papers covering a range of applications.

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Explore electron microscopy

TEM Sample Preparation

Proper sample preparation is a critical step in the scientific experiment process—a step that can determine the ultimate quality and accuracy of the results. FIB-SEM instruments can be used to facilitate fully automated in situ TEM sample preparation, enabling new chemistries and technologies while advancing research in batteries, polymers, metals, and more.

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Applications