Page 35 - Research & Innovation Report 2020

SCIENCE

First of its kind in Africa

New electron detector technology can study the dynamic behaviour of materials at the atomic
scale in a fraction of the time.

The first big thing several years ago was the aberration-corrected The CHRTEM recently acquired one of the world’s best direct
Transmission Electron Microscope (ac-TEM) used by local and electron detectors, the Merlin for EM Hybrid Pixel Detector –
international scientists to investigate the tiniest components in in partnership with the NRF’s National Equipment Programme
materials, such as atoms. (NEP). The NEP contributed two-thirds of the more than
R6.6-million cost of the system, while Mandela University
“The next big thing is direct electron detector technology contributed the remaining third.
that enables you to study, dynamically in a microscope, the
behaviour of material components subjected to environmental “It’s the first of its kind in South Africa and Africa and it will further
stimuli, such as heating,” says Dr Jaco Olivier, chief scientist, enhance the CHRTEM and Mandela University’s standing as one of
electron microscopist and postgraduate supervisor in the Centre the world’s leading electron microscopy research facilities, working at
for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (CHRTEM), the same level as the best international laboratories,” says Dr Olivier.
Department of Physics.
As a government-funded, national facility, the CHRTEM provides
“It gives you a correlated view of the material behaviour at the consultation and expert support in electron microscopy to
microscopic scale, exponentially speeding up the research process scientists, postgraduates, and collaborative scientific projects in
from a few weeks or months to a few hours or one week at most, South Africa and globally. It has close ties with industry and does a
depending on what you are investigating.” lot of work with Eskom, Sasol, Hulamin and Element Six.

Dr Jaco Olivier testing out the new detector system in Stuttgart Germany in 2019, with research associate, Dr Yi Wang

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