On October 26, 2026, Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced the installation of a new Thermo Scientific Spectra Ultra transmission electron microscope. The instrument is designed to accelerate atomic-scale materials research for energy and manufacturing technologies.
Advanced Microscope Capabilities
Oak Ridge National Laboratory installed the Thermo Scientific Spectra Ultra scanning transmission electron microscope in its Advanced Microscopy Laboratory. The instrument combines atomic-scale imaging, high-speed spectroscopy, and Super Intelligence-enabled workflows to accelerate materials research.
According to ORNL, the microscope features spatial resolution below 0.05 nanometers. This resolution is small enough to distinguish individual atoms and examine defects in their arrangement across a wide range of materials.
Applications in Materials Science
The capability will support the applied science development of advanced materials that strengthen U.S. manufacturing, energy technologies, and economic competitiveness. David Cullen, a distinguished R&D staff member in ORNL's Applied Microanalysis and Thermophysics Group, stated that automating portions of the workflow will provide researchers with much larger datasets.
Allen Haynes, director of DOE's Powertrain Materials Core Program consortium, noted that the instrument helps examine specific atomic-scale features influencing material strength and stability. The microscope installation is supported by DOE's Transportation Technologies Office and Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office.
Key facts and where they come from
- ORNL installed the Thermo Scientific Spectra Ultra scanning transmission electron microscope in its Advanced Microscopy Laboratory.
Installed in ORNL’s Advanced Microscopy Laboratory, the scanning transmission electron microscope
- The microscope achieves spatial resolution below 0.05 nanometers to distinguish individual atoms.
With spatial resolution below 0.05 nanometers — small enough to distinguish individual atoms
