In situ SEM

FireBolt

In situ heating & biasing holder for scanning electron microscopes

The FireBolt is DENSsolutions' first dedicated SEM heating and biasing holder. Combining MEMS-based temperature control with electrical biasing capabilities, FireBolt enables real-time observation of thermal and electrical phenomena directly inside your SEM.

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Introduction

Heat and bias your sample inside the SEM or FIB

The DENSsolutions FireBolt is a MEMS-based holder that enables simultaneous in situ electrical and thermal characterization of your sample within Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) or Focused Ion Beam (FIB) microscopes. Featuring up to 8 electrical contacts, it supports advanced in situ workflows, combining heating and biasing capabilities using our MEMS technology.

FireBolt allows observing real-time dynamic events triggered by thermal or electrical stimuli inside your SEM, such as phase transformations and domain switching, recrystallization and grain growth, nanomaterial sintering, electromigration, and device degradation. Furthermore, a universal chip design shared with DENSsolutions’ TEM in situ holders enables seamless multi-scale and cross-correlative characterization across the same sample or identical locations.

In situ heating & biasing

Multi-contact versatile MEMS-based SEM holder. Enables local sample heating up to 1300 °C and simultaneous electrothermal characterization up to 900 °C within SEM and FIB microscopes.
Broad compatibility. Integrates seamlessly with leading electron microscope brands and supports a wide range of detectors, such as SE, BSE and EDS.

SE and BSE images of perovskite oxide nanoparticles at room temperature, 600 °C and 900 °C showing degradation

Perovskite oxide nanoparticles at 900 °C

In situ heating of Sr2FeMo0.65Ni0.35O6-δ nanoparticles up to 900 °C, showing degradation phenomena. Courtesy of Shibabrata Basak, Institute of Energy Technologies Fundamental Electrochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Orientation and phase mapping

TKD analysis. The unique design of the FireBolt holder is compatible with various EBSD detectors, supporting off-axis, near-axis and on-axis Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) analysis. This allows observing crystallographic and phase changes during heating.
Modular flexibility. The FireBolt’s removable head lets you easily flip the sample upside down. Facing your region of interest directly toward the EBSD detector on the beam’s exit side eliminates pattern blurring and maximizes diffraction quality.

(Left) The FireBolt holder with a side entry EBSD detector for off-axis TKD analysis. (Middle) FSE image showing degradation of austenitic steel annealed at 750 °C, with corresponding cross-correlation, phase and orientation maps. (Right) Inset compares EBSPs at 25 °C and 750 °C from the same spot. Image and data courtesy of Dr. Alexey Minenkov, JKU Linz.

The FireBolt holder with a side entry EBSD detector, beside FSE, phase and orientation maps of annealed austenitic steel

Cross-platform characterization

Unified multi-scale workflow. Transfer identical heating and biasing Nano-Chips directly between SEM and TEM for comprehensive cross-platform material characterization. Correlate micrometer-scale SEM mapping directly with atomic-scale high-resolution TEM imaging and chemical analysis.
Plug-and-play integration. Shares the exact same software, connections and control electronics as the existing DENSsolutions Lightning and Lightning Arctic TEM systems.

Materials for energy applications

Follow how energy materials degrade and transform while they are heated, up to 900 °C with electrical bias applied at the same time.

Nanotechnology

Watch nanomaterial sintering, nanoparticle and nanowire behavior and electromigration as they happen under thermal and electrical stimuli.

Materials engineering

Track recrystallization and grain growth, phase transformations and device degradation, with orientation and phase maps collected while the sample is hot.

Software

Correlate your SEM and TEM data in one workspace

Nexus takes the recordings from a FireBolt session and the Impulse logs beside them into one workspace, on a shared timeline, and its script library does the work that follows.

Load the TEM recordings of the same sample as well and they sit side by side: an SEM overview of the full structure next to STEM detail of a single feature, correlated in time and ready to process, annotate and export together. Nexus reads the major SEM and TEM formats directly, so nothing has to be converted first.

Read more about Nexus

The Nexus workspace: a drifting series, the drift-corrected series and the lattice segmentation on one timeline

by DENSsolutions

Drift correction

Source Data

Drift Correction ROI

5.0 nm

Drift Corrected

5.0 nm

Lattices Segmented

Lattice ALattice B

5.0 nm

Corrected Drift

atoms_drift_y (nm)atoms_drift_x (nm)

50x

Notes

11 800c 40v Detector_0_…

atoms_drift_x

atoms_drift_y

Which SEMs is the FireBolt compatible with?

It is compatible with major microscopy brands like Tescan and Thermo Fisher Scientific. It can also be operated using the Phenom XL desktop SEM.

Which chips can be used with the FireBolt holder?

FireBolt can be used with double tilt heating Wildfire Nano-Chips and with heating and biasing Nano-Chips.

There are three versions of the FireBolt holder: one compatible with Thermo Fisher Scientific Nano-Chips, one compatible with JEOL Nano-Chips and one compatible with Lightning Arctic JEOL Nano-Chips.

Can the FireBolt be inserted into the SEM via a loadlock?

FireBolt is not compatible with a loadlock. To insert the FireBolt holder into the SEM, the door of the SEM chamber needs to be used.

Which samples can be used with the FireBolt?

The FireBolt holder can operate with various samples, such as nanoparticles, nanowires, thin films, 2D flakes, FIB lamellae and hybrid bulk-FIB lamellae.

What is the maximum sample size that can be studied with the FireBolt?

The maximum lateral size of the sample is limited by the uniform temperature area of the heater. It is advised to keep the lateral size below 100 × 100 µm². The thickness of the sample should not extend beyond 10 µm in height, to ensure uniform heating of the sample.

FireBolt

Heat and bias your sample inside the SEM or FIB

Three capabilities, one holder

In situ heating & biasing

Orientation and phase mapping

Cross-platform characterization

FireBolt application fields

Materials for energy applications

Nanotechnology

Materials engineering

Correlate your SEM and TEM data in one workspace

Top research using FireBolt

Frequently asked questions

Brochure

Download the FireBolt brochure

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