Transition edge sensor system for material analysis using transmission electron microscope

Abstract

We have developed a Transition Edge Sensor (TES) – Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) for Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) based on a dilution refrigerator. The dilution refrigerator was cooled by liquid helium (L-He), which was supplied from an L-He container separated from the dilution refrigerator. We adopted the hybrid magnetic shields combining a permalloy shield and a NbTi/Nb/Cu superconducting shield to operate the TEM–TES system under a magnetic field of 200 mT. The permalloy shield was used to prevent the ambient magnetic field until the NbTi superconducting shield cooled from room temperature (RT) to 2 K. The critical magnetic field was 220 mT for the TES change from a superconducting state to a normal state. The SQUID – current vs. bias current curve, under the condition that the snout was inserted in the TEM, was equal to the curve of the snout that was out of the TEM. The C (0 0 2) planes could be observed at 120 kV under the condition the snout was inserted in the TEM.