About this Conference

Microscopy Techniques on Nanomaterials

The Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI) on “Microscopy Techniques on Nanomaterials” will take place in Cancun Mexico, from August 21 to 29 of 2008 at The Marriot Casamagna Hotel. The event is being sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation and will convene scientists in the field to promote interactions and develop cooperative programs between diverse groups in the American continent. It will be aimed at the young investigator and it will include tutorials, specialized lectures, hands-on laboratory modules, and poster sessions for the participating students (half from the US and half from Latin America). In addition, debate sessions will be organized to discuss critical science and technology issues related to the theme addressed in the tutorials and invited talks presented each day. Emphasis will be placed on the development and delivery of well-coordinated tutorials.

Nanotechnology has become one of the most significant topics in modern physical sciences. The number of researchers working in this topic has exploded worldwide in the last five years.  Nanomaterials characterization has advanced significantly the last decade. For instance, the TEM techniques have improved dramatically. Since its inception in the twentieth century, electron microscopy has developed into a powerful tool for scientific research. Indeed, the use of electron microscopy has facilitated many fundamental discoveries. This technique has itself been subject to constant evolution thanks to unceasing design efforts in the scientific and manufacturing TEM community. The advances in this field have been characterized by a series of quantum leaps in technology. For instance, the double condenser lens and tilting stages revolutionized the study of defects in metals in the late Fifties and early Sixties. The high lattice resolution achieved in the Seventies, along with improvements in vacuum methods and lens control, produced  less complicated results with minimal training. Consequently, the TEM gained enormous popularity in the materials community. In the second half of the Eighties, a new quantum leap was realized by the achievement of atomic resolution on a routine basis. Microscopes with a point resolution of 0.17 nm coupled with spectacular advances in diffraction theory led to many fine examples of materials characterization. In the Nineties another quantum leap occurred with the introduction of Highly Coherent Field Emission electron sources and electron loss analyzers. Combined with X-ray analysis, this established the TEM as a powerful analytical machine. For the first time, images, diffraction, and spectroscopy could be obtained from a single instrument. The TEM has become a standard instrument for many scientific fields.

 Other important developments include the introduction of electron holography and dark field images produced using incoherently scattered electrons (Z-Contrast).
The next quantum leap in electron microscopy has been produced by the introduction of aberration correctors for the objective lens in TEM and STEM lens. These techniques will undoubtedly usher in a new era for TEM. Improved point resolution of 0.007 nm, an increased information limit, enhanced energy resolution, and improved stages using MEMS technology will allow 3-D reconstruction of amorphous materials such as glasses. Refined X-ray techniques will facilitate chemical analysis essentially at the single atom level. Still more exciting, Cs corrected microscopes will allow more space in the objective lens gap, thus making it possible to construct stages for in situ examination of materials at atomic resolution and analysis with atomic accuracy. Advances in Microscopy have not only been restricted to TEM. In addition, SEM microscopes have been improved to obtain 1 nm resolution making the images very complementary with TEM ones. Improvements in the X-ray detectors and analysis software have made EDS techniques an important tool for characterizing nanomaterials. The possibility of obtaining crystallographic information using channeling patterns added a new dimension to the SEM methods. STEM attachments in the SEM hold an important promise to study soft matter. A long-standing goal in microstructural characterization is to directly link high spatial resolution imaging or, more importantly, spectroscopic measurements with readily understandable physical properties so, as to form nanostructure–materials property relationships.

Additional improvements in TEM include,

  • The use of convergent beam patterns to determine lattice parameters in semiconductor materials.
  • The development of Tomography methods using Bright Field or HAADF-STEM to reconstruct 3-D shapes.
  • Holographic methods to study magnetic materials.

Optical microscopy has also seen important improvements by the introduction of the confocal microscope, which allows now 3-D reconstruction of structures at optical level. The near field optical microscope, the raman microscope, and the two photon microscope have also been used to study light emission from nanomaterials.
A fundamental technique is the microscopy based on the tunneling effects. The development of the STM was a corner stone on the nano-characterization techniques. A number of Scanning Probe Microscope’s are now available such as the atomic force microscope, the magnetic force microscope, and several others. Scanning probe microscopes are a must in a nano lab.

In this PASI the following topics will be covered

  • High Resolution TEM using Aberration Corrected Microscopes.
  • Aberration Corrected STEM-HAADF microscopy
  • In Situ experiments on the TEM
  • Advances on Electron Diffraction Methods
  • Electron Tomography using STEM and TEM
  • Advances on EELS methods
  • Nanostructures Calculations using DFT methods.
  • HREM and STEM image calculations
  • Advances in Optical Microscopy
  • AFM microscopy
  • Scanning Probe Microcopies
  • Advances in sample preparation using FIB
  • Characterization of nanostructures by X Ray Microanalysis
  • Energy Filtered Images of nanostructures
  • Advances in SEM image techniques
  • Crystallography on the SEM.
  • Holographic Methods.

Student Admission

Approximately 50 Fellowships for Ph.D. students and post-docs of U.S. and Latin American Institutions will be available to attend the PASI.  Half of the fellowships will be for US participants and half for Latin American participants. All expenses to attend the workshop will be covered by an NSF award. The International Committee will award fellowships on a competitive basis upon selection. Interested students and post-docs should submit the following application materials:

  • A two-page essay on “My research work in characterization  of nanostructures”
  • A one-page CV listing publications, academic honors, etc.
  • A letter of certification from chair or department head attesting applicant’s PhD candidacy, i.e., successful completion of PhD qualifying exam and preliminary exam (thesis proposal) or post-doc status.

We will also open around 25 places for students being supported by their institution or the Industry. They will be selected on the same basis of the other students.

Deadline

The application deadline is May 30, 2008 5:00 p.m. US central time.

Organizing Committee

The organizing Committee is integrated by:
Miguel Jose Yacaman, USA Director
Mexican Directors:
Sergio Mejia, Co-Director
Eduardo Pérez-Tijerina, Co-Director
Juan Méndez- Nonell, Co-Director

International Advisory Committee

Jesus Gonzalez (Cimav, México)
Alwyn Eades (Lehigh University)
F. Ponce (Arizona State)
Guillermo Solórzano (PUC, Rio de Janeiro)
J M Zou (Urbana Illinois)
Ubaldo Ortiz (University of Nuevo Leon)
Gema Gonzales (IVIC, Venezuela)
David Rios (IPICYT, Mexico)