CEITEC Brno University of Technology has completed a major upgrade of its TITAN transmission electron microscope, one of the most advanced tools for studying materials at the atomic level.
Located in the CEITEC Nano clean laboratories, the 4-metre TITAN Themis microscope has undergone two significant upgrades: the installation of a cutting-edge electromagnetic lens aberration corrector and a new electron energy loss spectrometer with ultra-sensitive cameras. Together, these enhancements place the instrument among a very small number of similarly equipped microscopes worldwide.
According to Jan Michalička, guarantor of the TITAN microscope, the new aberration corrector allows the electron beam to be focused to a size smaller than an atom, achieving a resolution of less than 50 picometres. This enables scientists to create images of individual atoms and analyse their chemical composition, which is essential for the development of advanced materials, catalysts and electronic components.
A major advantage of the upgrade is the ability to achieve atomic resolution even at low electron energies, allowing researchers to study highly sensitive materials such as graphene without damaging them. Unusually, the corrector was installed directly in CEITEC’s Brno laboratories rather than during factory production, a technically demanding process carried out by a small group of international experts.
The second upgrade, a new-generation electron energy loss spectrometer, provides detailed information about atomic structure, chemical bonds and magnetic properties. Equipped with state-of-the-art cameras capable of detecting individual electrons, the system opens new possibilities for studying dynamic and fragile materials.
Funded through the TERAFIT project, the upgraded microscope will support research into energy-efficient information technologies and advanced nanomaterials. As part of the CzechNanoLab infrastructure, the TITAN microscope is accessible not only to CEITEC scientists but also to researchers from across the Czech Republic and abroad, strengthening Brno’s position as a centre of cutting-edge scientific research.
