Measurement on-site
2026/06/30
Leopoldo Molina-Luna, Professor for Electron Microscopy at TU Darmstadt, has once again been awarded a ‘Proof of Concept’ grant by the European Research Council (ERC). He is thus the first researcher at TU Darmstadt to receive ERC funding for the fifth time. The “CALIBRATE” project, which has now been awarded the grant, aims to establish a new calibration standard for transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
Electron microscopes are among the most important tools in modern materials research. They enable materials and electronic components to be examined down to the atomic level. To ensure that measurement results are reliable and comparable worldwide, the intensity of the electron beam at the point of observation must be known precisely.
However, there is currently no universally adopted calibration standard for direct beam-current measurements at the sample position. Existing methods rely on indirect measurements and can introduce significant uncertainties, particularly in modern in-situ experiments, where materials are studied under realistic operating conditions. Although specialised Faraday cups exist that can measure electron beam currents precisely, existing solutions are either expensive, require specialised sample holders, or are incompatible with MEMS-based sample platforms increasingly used for advanced in situ experiments. MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) are tiny components on the micrometre scale that integrate minute mechanical structures, sensors and electronics onto a single chip.
Development of a new calibration standard
In the CALIBRATE project, which has now received funding in the form of a ‘proof of concept’ grant, Professor Leopoldo Molina-Luna, Head of the Advanced Electron Microscopy (AEM) Division in the Department of Materials- and Geosciences, is developing a novel calibration standard directly on MEMS chips that are already in use in modern transmission electron microscopes. To achieve this, microscopically small Faraday cups are integrated, enabling the electron beam to be measured precisely at the sample site. “This enables quantitative measurements of electron beam current and precise dose control during in-situ experiments,” explains Molina-Luna.
The technology aims to improve the accuracy and reproducibility of quantitative electron microscopy while laying the foundation for universally applicable calibration standard that can be implemented directly at the sample position.
The project involves close scientific collaboration with Goethe University Frankfurt, which, together with TU Darmstadt and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, form the strategic alliance of the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU). In addition, industry partners are supporting the development with regard to the validation of the technology and its potential future commercialisation.
With CALIBRATE, Molina-Luna has now secured his third ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant, making him one of a small group of researchers in Europe who have successfully secured this type of project on multiple occasions.
CALIBRATE builds on the experience gained from the PoC projects STARE and BED-TEM Whilst STARE and BED-TEM investigated new approaches to the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in electron microscopy, CALIBRATE aims to provide a globally applicable calibration standard for quantitative in situ electron microscopy.
About the researcher
Leopoldo Molina-Luna has been a professor at TU Darmstadt since March 2020 and heads the Advanced Electron Microscopy (AEM) Division at the Institute of Materials Science (Department of Materials- and Geosciences) as well as the In Situ Microstructural Analytics Lab at the Center for Reliability Analytics (CRA). He is a member of the Matter and Materials (M+M) research field.
He obtained his PhD in Physics from the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen and subsequently carried out postdoctoral research at the Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) laboratory of the University of Antwerp. In 2018, he received an ERC Starting Grant (for the FOXON project) and, in 2020, an ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant (for the STARE project) as well as an MIT-Germany Global Seed Fund. In 2023, the ERC awarded him a Consolidator Grant for his ‘ELECTRON’ project, followed in 2024 by a further Proof-of-Concept Grant for ‘BED-TEM’, and a third Proof of Concept Grant for CALIBRATE in 2026. Molina-Luna’s current research focuses on on developing advanced electron microscopy methods to understand structure-property relationships in functional materials and electronic devices for energy and information technologies.
‘Proof of Concept’ Grant
A ‘Proof of Concept’ Grant is a funding scheme that complements the research grants awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). It is aimed exclusively at researchers who already hold an ERC grant and wish to exploit a research result from their ongoing or completed project on a pre-commercial basis. This is the first step towards technology transfer. The aim of a proof-of-concept project is to assess the market potential of such an idea. The ERC therefore does not fund research activities in this context, but rather measures aimed at further development with a view to achieving application readiness, commercialisation or the marketing of the idea.
Molina-Luna/bjb
