Towards advanced crystallography: Investigation of microcrystals at low temperatures

We propose to extend structural investigations of microcrystals localized on TEM grids towards measurements at ambient conditions and low temperatures using the nano-focus setup of beamline ID11. Rare-earth metal pnictide chalcogenides REPnCh (RE = La-Nd; PnCh = BiSe, BiTe, SbS) will be
investigated at temperatures down to 90 K to examine the formation of charge-density waves. Microcrystalline compounds of the Ta/Cu/S system obtained by the
decomposition of the thermoelectric material TaCuS3 will be measured at low-temperature conditions to investigate the dynamical disorder of Cu atoms.

本研究提出将依托光束线ID11的纳米聚焦装置，将原位固定于透射电子显微镜（Transmission Electron Microscope, TEM）载网上的微晶的结构表征拓展至环境条件与低温环境下的测量。我们将针对稀土金属磷族硫族化合物REPnCh（其中RE为La至Nd，PnCh为BiSe、BiTe、SbS）开展低至90 K的低温结构表征，以考察电荷密度波（charge-density waves）的形成过程。通过热电材料TaCuS3分解得到的Ta/Cu/S体系微晶化合物，将在低温环境下进行测量，以探究铜原子的动态无序行为。