Under the microscope: Microscopy is the glue that binds science disciplines

A blog post by Mark Salomons , Team Lead of Developmental and Analytical Microscopy at Quantum and Nanotechnologies Research Centre of the National Research Council Canada.

Microscopy is a tool that allows researchers to interact on length scales smaller than what can be seen with the naked eye. At the Quantum and Nanotechnologies Research Centre, we specialize in electron and scanning probe microscopy, which allows us to see at subatomic length scales.

We are innovating the field of microscopy and are building the next-generation of microscopes that will deepen our understanding of quantum effects. Before we can pursue quantum technology, we have to work on improving the transmission electron microscope.

As part of the NanoMi project, we built our own transmission electron microscope from scratch and designed all of our own electronics, software and hardware. The project was conceived by Senior Research Officer Dr. Marek Malac , a 2-time NRC Research Excellence award winner.

About the NanoMi project

Mi is the Japanese kanji (an ideogram or character adapted from Chinese characters) for beauty. It represents seeing beauty at the nanoscale. The project is open-source and is intended for scientific, industry and academic users to build and customize the equipment for their needs. One of the goals for NanoMi is for it to be developed by a community outside of the NRC so that it can see constant improvement.

Education in the field of microscopy is typically limited by cost, but with NanoMi we can make education in the field more accessible. NanoMi will increase accessibility to industry and is intended to help build scientific capacity in Indigenous or remote communities and developing countries.

Using the NanoMi platform, we built an ultra-fast transmission electron microscope (UTEM). Working with 加拿大阿尔伯塔大学 professor Frank Hegmann , who runs one of the world’s leading ultrafast laser labs, we were able to marry an optical bench with an electron column so that we could combine photons and electrons.

The future of microscopy

Building on the UTEM technology, our ultimate goal is to build a quantum transmission electron microscope (QTEM).

To do this, we will not only rely on the expertise of our NRC colleagues, but will collaborate with academic and industry partners both nationally and internationally.

QTEM would allow the imaging of a single cell. This is important for expensive fields, like drug research, where they can only produce a few copies of a molecule or cell. QTEM would allow for improved efficiency and cost effectiveness in biological or pharmacological research. Additionally, QTEM will allow us to observe and discover new quantum effects.

The field of microscopy encompasses many different specialties and is used by almost every scientific discipline. It is the glue that binds science disciplines together. Just as we found success at the Quantum and Nanotechnologies Research Centre with external collaborators, we saw the potential for collaboration within the NRC.

With that in mind, 5 years ago we created the NRC Microscopy Community of Practice to bring together NRC microscopists. Organized by a committee of researchers from across the NRC, this community has helped connect scientists and break down silos to foster research excellence at the NRC.

Collaboration and inclusion are the drivers of scientific innovation. Projects like NanoMi, which aims to democratize science, and collaborative groups like the NRC Microscopy Community of Practice, create opportunities for inclusive innovation and facilitate interdisciplinary research. This is one way of ensuring that Canada will be a world leader in fields like quantum science.

Interested in seeing what NRC researchers see under the microscope?

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Every Monday we will feature an image taken by an microscopy researcher from across the NRC.

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