| Abstract: | An ultra-high vacuum, field emission source, scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a gas cell to permit the in situ study of high temperature gas-solid reactions is described. High resolution SEM (50 Å) and scanning Auger microscopy (300 Å resolution) can be carried out at specimen temperatures up to 1000°C. Reaction products and processes can be imaged continuously in the SEM at pressures up to ～0.2 Torr. Gas pressures up to 50 Torr are possible but with some limitations. Methods of specimen mounting, problems of temperature measurement, and the microscope performance at high specimen temperatures and gas pressures are discussed. Examples of metal surface preparation and impurity segregation under high temperature annealing and gas exposure are reported. |
