Historically, quantum leaps in microscopy have been followed by commensurate advances in related fields of basic and applied research—“seeing” is often the missing link in understanding the underlying phenomena. Careful application of recent advances in electron microscopy instrumentation offers tremendous opportunities for understanding nanoscale fundamentals of fluidic process. We are particularly interested in imaging of phase change phenomena (condensation, boiling, and freezing), nanoscale flows, nanoparticle motion and self-assembly, droplet ejection, and water jets. Our current work focuses on development of novel static (cryo-FIB/SEM) and dynamic imaging methods (ESEM and wet-STEM), as well as improvement of the spatial and temporal resolution of existing in-situ techniques.
in situ ESEM/wet-STEM for imaging nano-to-microscale condensation dynamics