Development of in-line furnace for in situ nanoscale resolution x-ray microscopy

Full field transmission x-ray microscopy (TXM) is a newly developed x-ray imaging technique to provide quantitative and non-destructive 3D characterization of the complex microstructure of materials at nanometer resolution. A key missing component is an in situ apparatus enabling the imaging of the complex structural evolution of the materials and to correlate the structural change with a material's functionality under real operating conditions. This work describes the design of an environmental cell which satisfies the requirements for in situ TXM studies. The limited space within the TXM presents a spatial constraint which prohibits the use of conventional heaters, as well as requiring consideration in designing for safe and controlled operation of the system and alignment of the cell with the beam. A gravity drip-fed water cooling jacket was installed in place around the heating module to maintain critical components of the microscope at safe operating temperatures. A motion control system consisting of pulse width modulated DC motor driven XYZ translation stages was developed to facilitate fine alignment of the cell. Temperature of the sample can be controlled remotely and accurately through a controller to temperatures as high as 1200 K. Heating zone measurement was carried out and shows a 500 x 500 x 500 μm3 homogeneous zone volume for sample area, which is a critical parameter to ensure accurate observation of structural evolution at nanometer scale with a sample in size of tens of microns. Application on Ni particles for in situ oxidation experiment and dehydrogenation of aluminum hydride is also discussed.