JEOL GrandARM 300CF AC-Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

Instrument

JEOL GrandARM 300CF AC-Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

Located in RPL | Stewarded by Edgar C. Buck, Nuclear Chemistry and Engineering Group

The Radiochemical Processing Laboratory at PNNL is home to a new flagship JEOL GrandARM-300F scanning transmission electron microscope. This unique instrument will allow unprecedented atomic-scale characterization of nuclear materials, structural alloys, and functional systems in dynamic conditions.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | Andrea Starr

Mission

The 300kV JEOL GrandARM-300F is one of four microscopes providing unprecedented new nuclear science research capabilities to analyze and characterize radiological materials. Located in the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory, the instrument’s mission is atomic-scale imaging and chemical and compositional materials analysis on structural alloys, fuel assemblies, electronic materials, and catalysts.

In the brief time since it began operations at PNNL, researchers have:

Demonstrated how advanced detectors enable mapping of fission gas products in spent fuel, helping us to better understand and model decay of waste.
Provided Ab initio modeling based on atomic-scale imaging to identify how structural distortions mediate radiation damage in pyrochlore oxides.
Produced the first report of atomic-scale spectroscopy of any actinide, thus giving us direct insight into uraninite surface oxidation.

Features

80 – 300 kV accelerating voltage
63 pm spatial resolution
Dual JEOL Centurio energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometers (1.63 sr solid angle)
GIF Quantum 665 electron energy loss spectrometer
Array of sample stages for tilting, tomography, heating, and cooling

Related publications:

Spurgeon SR, TC Kaspar, V Shutthanandan, J Gigax, L Shao, and M Sassi. 2020. "Oxide Interfaces in Disarray: Asymmetric Lattice Disorder induced at Oxide Interfaces." Advanced Materials Interfaces, Vol. 7 1901944.

Research topics

Environmental Management