What drives device performance, degradation, and failure at the nanoscale?
As semiconductor materials, interfaces, and fabrication processes become more complex, understanding how structure, chemistry, and electrical properties evolve during processing and operation is increasingly critical. Hummingbird Scientific in-situ TEM, SEM, and X-ray platforms enable multimodal characterization under electrical bias, controlled environments, and closed-loop temperatures from −170 °C to above 1000 °C. By correlating real-time imaging with complementary analytical data, researchers can reveal the mechanisms driving switching, degradation, and failure, and use those insights to accelerate next-generation semiconductor technologies.
Explore semiconductor experiments below, along with real-world examples and Hummingbird sample holders suited to each workflow.
Which type of experiment best matches your research?
Operando electron holography
Visualize electric fields and charge distributions during electrical biasing of semiconductor materials and devices.
Operando electron holography
Mapping electric fields and imaging ferroelectric domain switching in hafnia-zirconia devices
Internal electric fields within ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 /Al2O3 tunnel junctions were measured using in situ electrical biasing electron holography.
- Charge densities at internal interfaces were quantitatively determined.
- Polarization switching upon increasing voltage was revealed to occur via both the nucleation and lateral growth of domains.
- The approach is complementary to existing characterization techniques like HAADF and iDPC and opens new avenues for engineering the interfaces in ferroelectric devices.
Reference: Leifeng Zhang, et al, Nat Commun 16, 11233 (2025) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66807-4
Image copyright © 2025, The Author(s). Published by Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
2D materials-based devices
Investigate charge transport and electrical switching in operating 2D semiconductor devices.
2D materials-based devices
In-Situ TEM of an electron beam gated 2D MoS2 field-effect transistor
Electrical gating of 2D MoS2 channels was achieved using the TEM electron beam during operando biasing measurements.
- Electron-beam irradiation of the supporting SiNx membrane induced surface charging, reducing MoS₂ conductance by up to 94%.
- The effect was reversible, with on/off ratios reaching 56 at higher beam currents.
- The results demonstrate beam-induced substrate charging as a controllable gate for in situ study of 2D nanoelectronics devices without complex fabrication.
Reference: Paul Masih Das & Marija Drndić, ACS Nano 14, 6, 7389-7397 (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c02908
Image copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society
Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging
Map electrical connectivity and electric fields in operating semiconductor devices.
Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging
EBIC imaging of a hafnium zirconium oxide (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2, HZO) capacitor
In situ STEM EBIC imaging of TaN/HZO/TaN capacitors was performed to map local polarization and directly correlate electrical switching with nanoscale domain behavior.
- Global polarization was measured using the positive-up, negative-down (PUND) transport method.
- The capacitor polarized after PUND measurements was subsequently imaged by STEM EBIC.
- Coercive-field mapping reveals individual domains to be biased “positive” and “negative”, instead of being “easy’ and “hard” to switch.
- The work establishes STEM EBIC as a revolutionary tool for characterizing ferroelectric materials and devices.
Reference: Ho Leung Chan, et al, ACS Nano 18, 31, 20380-20388 (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c04526
Image copyright © 2024, The Author(s). Published by American Chemical Society. This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
Site-specific probing and biasing
Make precise localized electrical contacts and perform site-specific electrical measurements on semiconductor materials and devices.
Site-specific probing and biasing
Electrical switching in Ge-Te devices via site-specific probing and biasing
In situ observations revealed the nanoscale structural rearrangements, phase transitions, and electrically driven switching pathways that governed volatile-to-non-volatile behavior in Ge–Te devices.
- Devices with different ratios of Ge v/s Te were tested for electrical switching behavior.
- Te rich materials switched via melting and recrystallization; mid-range compositions switched electronically only.
- Ge rich materials switched via amorphous to crystalline transformations.
- Demonstrates the advantages of site-specific biasing in nanodevice probing and testing.
Reference: Zihao Zhao, et al, ACS Nano 35, 23, 2423940 (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202423940
Image copyright © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
In-situ plasmon energy expansion thermometry
Measure nanoscale temperature distributions in electrically biased semiconductor materials and devices.
In-situ plasmon energy expansion thermometry
In-situ testing of nanoscale thermoelectric coolers
Cooling performance of single-crystal bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and antimony/bismuth telluride (Sb2–xBixTe3) based thermoelectric coolers was evaluated using plasmon energy expansion thermometry (PEET) and condensation thermometry.
- Structural characterization using STEM, SEM, and EDS; electrical characterization using STEM EBIC.
- In-situ PEET reveals Peltier cooling, up to ~21K below ambient, at low currents, which gets overtaken by Joule heating at higher currents.
- Condensation thermometry showed droplet formation in less than 0.5 seconds.
- Demonstrates the utility of in-situ thermometry for developing improved coolers.
Reference: William A. Hubbard, et al, ACS Nano 14, 9, 11510-11517 (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03958
Image copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society
Operando electron holography
Visualize electric fields and charge distributions during electrical biasing of semiconductor materials and devices.
2D materials-based devices
Investigate charge transport and electrical switching in operating 2D semiconductor devices.
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Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging
Map electrical connectivity and electric fields in operating semiconductor devices.
Site-specific probing and biasing
Make precise localized electrical contacts and perform site-specific electrical measurements on semiconductor materials and devices.
In-situ plasmon energy expansion thermometry
Measure nanoscale temperature distributions in electrically biased semiconductor materials and devices.
Browse publications
Nanoscale
Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention
Advanced Functional Materials
Nature Communications
Research Spotlight
Video showing the phase transformation from amorphous to crystalline state that occurs in the Ge-Te nanodevice under applied voltage.
Electrical switching via site-specific biasing
Electrical switching lets materials change between ON and OFF states when a voltage is applied. This simple behavior is the foundation of modern memory, where data is stored as different resistance states. Some materials switch temporarily (volatile), while others hold their state (non-volatile) for long-term storage—both behaviors are uniquely accessible in Ge–Te chalcogenides through composition tuning. The Hummingbird Scientific TEM biasing manipulator sample holder enables site-specific probing and biasing during in situ imaging, directly linking atomic-scale structural evolution to switching dynamics.
This video shows in-situ site-specific biasing of Ge–Te nanodevices with strong potential for next-generation memory. Under applied voltage, the device switches from amorphous to crystalline state. Direct visualization of these switching processes at the nanoscale can accelerate the design of faster, more reliable memory technologies.
Hummingbird Advantages
- Precise, site-specific biasing for correlating structure-property relationships at the nanoscale.
- High-stability holder design for near drift-free atomic resolution imaging.
Reference: Zihao Zhao, et al, ACS Nano (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202423940
Video Copyright © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH
Why choose Hummingbird Scientific for your research?
Hummingbird Scientific supports in situ and operando semiconductor research with platform options, chip flexibility, direct scientist support, internal TEM lab experience, and in-house capabilities connected to production.
Broader options for in situ semiconductors characterization
Semiconductor research spans electrical biasing, thermal stressing, cryogenic characterization, nanoprobing, failure analysis, and multimodal correlative workflows. Hummingbird supports these studies with in situ TEM, SEM, and X-ray microscopy platforms offering electrical biasing, heating, cooling, nano-manipulation, and environmental experiment configurations. This gives researchers the flexibility to match the experimental platform to the device architecture, operating conditions, and measurement objectives.
More chip choices for experimental flexibility
Chip design plays a critical role in semiconductor characterization. With our own dedicated microfabrication division, Hummingbird supports standard and custom chips for electrical biasing, heating, and combined heating + biasing, with configurable window geometries and electrode layouts. This flexibility allows researchers to optimize chip designs for specific devices, materials, and experimental workflows while maintaining compatibility across multiple microscopy platforms.
Scientist support backed by an internal TEM Lab
Semiconductor researchers work directly with scientists and technical staff who understand the practical details of in situ and operando TEM workflows. Hummingbird’s internal TEM Lab allows our team to evaluate microscope-facing performance during development, including alignment, handling, imaging stability, sample-environment behavior, and workflow usability under real TEM conditions.
Engineering, production, and custom capability
Hummingbird's in-house capabilities connect engineering, microfabrication, manufacturing, assembly, calibration, and testing within one development process. For semiconductor research, that means standard products can be supported by custom chips and holder configurations, and application-specific workflow changes when the experiment requires something more specific.
Operando electron holography
Visualize electric fields and charge distributions during electrical biasing of semiconductor materials and devices.
Operando electron holography
Mapping electric fields and imaging ferroelectric domain switching in hafnia-zirconia devices
Internal electric fields within ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 /Al2O3 tunnel junctions were measured using in situ electrical biasing electron holography.
- Charge densities at internal interfaces were quantitatively determined.
- Polarization switching upon increasing voltage was revealed to occur via both the nucleation and lateral growth of domains.
- The approach is complementary to existing characterization techniques like HAADF and iDPC and opens new avenues for engineering the interfaces in ferroelectric devices.
Reference: Leifeng Zhang, et al, Nat Commun 16, 11233 (2025) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66807-4
Image copyright © 2025, The Author(s). Published by Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
2D materials-based devices
Investigate charge transport and electrical switching in operating 2D semiconductor devices.
2D materials-based devices
In-Situ TEM of an electron beam gated 2D MoS2 field-effect transistor
Electrical gating of 2D MoS2 channels was achieved using the TEM electron beam during operando biasing measurements.
- Electron-beam irradiation of the supporting SiNx membrane induced surface charging, reducing MoS₂ conductance by up to 94%.
- The effect was reversible, with on/off ratios reaching 56 at higher beam currents.
- The results demonstrate beam-induced substrate charging as a controllable gate for in situ study of 2D nanoelectronics devices without complex fabrication.
Reference: Paul Masih Das & Marija Drndić, ACS Nano 14, 6, 7389-7397 (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c02908
Image copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society
Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging
Map electrical connectivity and electric fields in operating semiconductor devices.
Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging
EBIC imaging of a hafnium zirconium oxide (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2, HZO) capacitor
In situ STEM EBIC imaging of TaN/HZO/TaN capacitors was performed to map local polarization and directly correlate electrical switching with nanoscale domain behavior.
- Global polarization was measured using the positive-up, negative-down (PUND) transport method.
- The capacitor polarized after PUND measurements was subsequently imaged by STEM EBIC.
- Coercive-field mapping reveals individual domains to be biased “positive” and “negative”, instead of being “easy’ and “hard” to switch.
- The work establishes STEM EBIC as a revolutionary tool for characterizing ferroelectric materials and devices.
Reference: Ho Leung Chan, et al, ACS Nano 18, 31, 20380-20388 (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c04526
Image copyright © 2024, The Author(s). Published by American Chemical Society. This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
Site-specific probing and biasing
Make precise localized electrical contacts and perform site-specific electrical measurements on semiconductor materials and devices.
Site-specific probing and biasing
Electrical switching in Ge-Te devices via site-specific probing and biasing
In situ observations revealed the nanoscale structural rearrangements, phase transitions, and electrically driven switching pathways that governed volatile-to-non-volatile behavior in Ge–Te devices.
- Devices with different ratios of Ge v/s Te were tested for electrical switching behavior.
- Te rich materials switched via melting and recrystallization; mid-range compositions switched electronically only.
- Ge rich materials switched via amorphous to crystalline transformations.
- Demonstrates the advantages of site-specific biasing in nanodevice probing and testing.
Reference: Zihao Zhao, et al, ACS Nano 35, 23, 2423940 (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202423940
Image copyright © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
In-situ plasmon energy expansion thermometry
Measure nanoscale temperature distributions in electrically biased semiconductor materials and devices.
In-situ plasmon energy expansion thermometry
In-situ testing of nanoscale thermoelectric coolers
Cooling performance of single-crystal bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and antimony/bismuth telluride (Sb2–xBixTe3) based thermoelectric coolers was evaluated using plasmon energy expansion thermometry (PEET) and condensation thermometry.
- Structural characterization using STEM, SEM, and EDS; electrical characterization using STEM EBIC.
- In-situ PEET reveals Peltier cooling, up to ~21K below ambient, at low currents, which gets overtaken by Joule heating at higher currents.
- Condensation thermometry showed droplet formation in less than 0.5 seconds.
- Demonstrates the utility of in-situ thermometry for developing improved coolers.
Reference: William A. Hubbard, et al, ACS Nano 14, 9, 11510-11517 (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03958
Image copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society
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