The Institute of Materials Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences now has a new Phenom XL desktop electron microscope, acquired as part of the OP JAK Partnership for Safety in Sustainable Transport and Energy (PSSITE) project, led by Prof. Ing. Luboš Náhlík, Ph.D.
The new Phenom XL desktop electron microscope from Thermo Fisher Scientific has been successfully installed at the Institute of Materials Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Within the PSSITE project, the microscope will be used in directed research conducted with partners from the application sphere (such as Bonatrans Group, a.s., ÚJP Praha, a.s., etc.), focusing on areas that are strategic for the Czech Republic, such as transport and energy. The research outcomes will primarily include new materials that enable more efficient functionality, longer, and safer lifespans of critical parts of equipment, such as fuel rods, high-temperature equipment, turbine blades, and more.
The new desktop SEM allows for sample observation in secondary (SE) and backscattered (BSE) electron modes, which enhances contrast for chemical and phase analysis, as well as the determination of chemical composition using EDS. A significant advantage of this device is its speed – within two minutes of opening the chamber, a high-quality image can be obtained. Moreover, the microscope is ideal for standard samples, which can be easily embedded in metallographic mounts, meaning we are not limited by size or the number of samples.
The Phenom XL microscope will significantly simplify and accelerate the acquisition of high-quality imaging and analytical data, which are essential for achieving the ambitious research goals of the PSSITE project.
The project, registration number CZ.02.01.01/00/23_020/0008549 – Partnership for Safety in Sustainable Transport and Energy (PSSITE) – was funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic as part of the Intersectoral Cooperation call of the Jan Amos Comenius Operational Programme.
