title: Integration of microplasma with transmission electron microscopy: Real-time observation of gold sputtering and island formation.
abstract: An in situ platform for characterizing plasma-materials interactions at the nanoscale in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) has been demonstrated. Integrating a DC microplasma device, having plane-parallel electrodes with a 25 nm thick Au film on both the cathode and anode and operating in 760 Torr of Ar, within a TEM provides real-time observation of Au sputtering and island formation with a spatial resolution of < 100 nm. Analyses of TEM and atomic force microscopy images show the growth of Au islands to proceed by a Stranski-Krastanov process at a rate that varies linearly with the discharge power and is approximately a factor of 3 larger than the predictions of a DC plasma sputtering model. The experiments reported here extend in situ TEM diagnostics to plasma-solid and plasma-liquid interactions.
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. kptai@illinois.edu
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Tai
authors: T J
authors: TJ
authors: Houlahan
authors: J G
authors: JG
authors: Eden
authors: S J
authors: SJ
authors: Dillon