Go beyond standard gas holder pressures investigating catalyst performance, gas–solid reactions, and pressure-dependent phase transformations with gas pressures up to 20 bar and closed-loop MEMS heating up to 900 °C
High-Pressure Gas Heating Inside the SEM
The Hummingbird Scientific SEM High-Pressure Gas Heating Sample Holder enables in-situ SEM imaging under controlled gas flow at pressures up to 20 bar. In contrast to Hummingbird Scientific's standard 2 atm gas-cell platform, it combines an environmental cell rated for pressures up to 20 bar, specialized high-pressure sealing technology, and low-bowing electron-transparent silicon nitride (SiN) membranes to maintain stable imaging at elevated pressures and temperatures. Integrated precision gas delivery and closed-loop MEMS heating up to 900 °C recreate realistic industrial reaction environments beyond the capabilities of conventional low-pressure in-situ gas-cell SEM.
Designed for High-Pressure Materials Research
The platform supports in-situ investigation of CO₂ hydrogenation, methanol synthesis, Fischer–Tropsch catalysis, ammonia synthesis, methane reforming, oxidation and reduction reactions, corrosion, nanoparticle evolution, and pressure-dependent phase transformations. Operating at pressures up to 20 bar enables these processes to be studied under conditions that more closely replicate real-world reaction environments.
Reveal Reaction Mechanisms Under Realistic High-Pressure Operating Conditions
Many gas–solid reactions exhibit pressure-dependent pathways, intermediate phases, and kinetic behavior that cannot be reproduced under conventional in-situ gas-phase experiments. By combining gas pressures up to 20 bar with closed-loop MEMS heating and electrical biasing, the platform enables direct observation of reaction mechanisms, catalyst restructuring, phase evolution, and degradation processes under conditions that more closely represent practical operating environments. The holder is optimized for versatility in SEM environments with multiple unique detectors including scattered (BSE and SE) and transmission (STEM) oriented around the sample stage inside of an evacuated chamber.
Hummingbird Advantages:
- Recreate industrially relevant high-pressure reaction environments with controlled gas pressures up to 20 bar.
- Safely image nanoscale samples at the highest gas pressure available using a specialized sealing mechanism and low-bowing silicon nitride (SiN) membranes engineered for high-pressures.
- Achieve fast, reproducible environmental-cell assembly with a screw-free loading mechanism and self-aligning SiN windows.
- Ensure reproducible gas-phase experiments through precise gas flow control and a dedicated purge line for contamination-free gas switching.
- Observe high-temperature gas-phase material transformations with closed-loop MEMS heating up to 900 °C and on-chip temperature sensing.
- Preserve analytical performance with EDS compatibility across the operating pressure range.
- Choose from a broad range of microfabricated chips with multiple heater configurations, window dimensions, and electrode materials to match your experiment.
- Support diverse applications including pressure-dependent catalyst activation, phase transformations, and gas–solid reaction mechanisms at high-temperatures.
Available For:
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How it Works
The SEM High-Pressure Gas Heating Sample Holder integrates a high-pressure-rated environmental cell, high-pressure gas delivery hardware, multifunctional high-pressure MEMS chips, electrical biasing, and closed-loop MEMS heating up to 900 °C into a unified platform for high-pressure in-situ SEM experiments. Samples are mounted onto Hummingbird Scientific MEMS chips optimized for pressures up to 20 bar before the environmental cell is assembled using a specialized high-pressure sealing mechanism. High-pressure-resistant, low-bowing silicon nitride (SiN) membranes, combined with optimized spacer geometries, maintain stable electron-transparent windows while withstanding gas pressures up to 20 bar.
The high-pressure gas delivery system provides manually-controlled gas flow through the sealed environmental cell, while the low-thermal-mass MEMS microheater enables rapid, closed-loop heating with integrated four-point on-chip temperature sensing. Compatible MEMS chips support a wide range of high-pressure in-situ gas-phase experiments, enabling direct observation of pressure- and temperature-dependent surface reactions, catalyst restructuring, oxidation, reduction, sintering, phase transformations, and material degradation under industry-relevant gas environments.
Key Features and Capabilities
Enable reliable in-situ SEM experiments at gas pressures up to 20 bar using a purpose-built high-pressure environmental cell
Achieve reproducible high-pressure gas-cell assembly with self-aligning windows and a screw-free sealing design
Perform temperature-controlled high-pressure gas-phase SEM with homogeneous MEMS heating up to 900 °C, 4-point on-chip temperature sensing, and near-drift-free imaging
Protect your SEM during high-pressure gas-cell experiments and streamline setup with rapid high-vacuum seal checking and optical inspection
Perform correlative high-pressure gas-phase microscopy across TEM, SEM, and synchrotron X-ray platforms
Perform correlative spectroscopy and microscopy for detailed in-situ elemental analysis
Keep experiments moving with in-stock gas-cell SEM chips designed for gas flow, heating, sample biasing, and multimodal microscopy workflows
Built for Diverse Research Applications
Software
Spend less time managing equipment and more time generating results. Hummingbird Connect™ integrates with microscope and laboratory software platforms to simplify experiment setup, streamline workflows, and keep your data organized from acquisition through analysis.
To help you get the most from your gas-cell holder, Hummingbird Control™ Software provides intuitive and precise control of closed loop gas heating. Together, these software solutions enable faster setup, improved reproducibility, and more efficient high-pressure gas-phase SEM experiments.
Built on Engineering Excellence
Hummingbird Scientific designs, machines, assembles, tests, and services its products in-house. Our integrated engineering, machining, microfabrication, software development, applications, and service teams enable rapid prototyping and iteration, custom modifications, and direct technical support throughout the life of the instrument. This vertically integrated approach allows researchers to adapt experimental platforms to unique scientific requirements while maintaining the performance and reliability required for advanced in-situ microscopy experiments.
The SEM High-Pressure Gas Heating Sample Holder is a direct result of these capabilities, integrating a high-pressure-rated environmental cell, precise gas delivery, closed-loop MEMS heating, and experimental workflows into a single platform for reproducible high-pressure in-situ gas-phase SEM experiments.
Need something unique? Our engineers can customize existing products or develop entirely new solutions to support specialized experiments and emerging research challenges.
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