arXiv:2509.12475
Liquid Helium Cryogenic TEM below 1 Å
Demonstrates sub-angstrom atomic imaging at specimen temperatures down to about 20 K, with low stage drift and stable hold times.
Atomic imaging with liquid helium cooling
Below 1 Å
information transfer at ~20 K
20 K
base temperature
±2 mK
thermal stability
Manuscripts
arXiv:2603.10892
Helium-Cooled Cryogenic STEM Imaging and Ptychography
Atomic-scale STEM and ptychography for low-temperature phases.
Read manuscriptarXiv:2509.24969
Nanoscale Polar Landscapes in Quantum Paraelectric SrTiO3
Cryogenic STEM down to 20 K reveals nanoscale polar domains in SrTiO3.
Read manuscriptarXiv:2509.16730
Melting point depression of charge density wave in 1T-TiSe2 due to size effects
In situ cryogenic electron microscopy down to 20 K observing size-dependent CDW nucleation and melting in nanoflake 1T-TiSe2.
Read manuscriptPNAS 2025
Ultracold cryogenic TEM with liquid helium and high stability
Modern TEM with liquid helium cooling and multi-day stability.
Read ManuscriptarXiv:2509.12475
Liquid Helium Cryogenic TEM below 1 Å
Sub-angstrom atomic imaging at ultracold sample temperatures.
Read manuscriptMulti-day, Ultra-stable Cryogenic Imaging
New atomic-resolution data
SrTiO3 membrane at 40 K
The new result shows 0.77 Å information transfer with a direct-space lattice image, FFT, and magnified atomic inset.
Temperature stability
Precise Temperatures
Temperature feedback control maintains millikelvin-scale stability over many hours, supporting long acquisitions and low drift at ultracold specimen temperatures.
Liquid Helium Cooling Stage for Modern TEM
The h-Bar Instruments technology incorporates continuous liquid helium flow, vibration decoupling, and precise temperature feedback control to enable high-resolution imaging at ultracold sample temperatures. Lower temperatures can improve electron-beam dose resilience of sensitive specimens and provide access to emergent electronic phases in quantum materials.
Multi-day stability
Continuous liquid helium flow supports stable ultra-cold operation over extended experiments.
Low drift and vibration damping
Preserves mechanical stability needed for sub-angstrom information transfer.
Feedback temperature control
Study phase transitions from 20 K to room temperature with controlled temperature sweeps.
Available on major platforms
The flexible and modular design enables cross-platform compatibility. The h-Bar Instruments system is available on major electron microscope systems (TFS, Bruker Nion, JEOL). Turn the microscope your already have into a liquid-helium capable instrument.
The Team
Maya Gates, Robert Hovden, Ismail El Baggari, Emily Rennich, and Mike Blaney bring deep expertise in ultra-cold cryogenic electron microscopy for probing next-generation materials and devices at the atomic scale.
Partners
