In-situ realtime monitoring of nanoscale gold electroplating using micro-electro-mechanical systems liquid cell operating in transmission electron microscopy
The dynamics of nanoscale electroplating between goldelectrodes was investigated using a microfabricated liquid cell mounted on a scanning transmission electron microscope. The electroplating was recorded in-situ for 10 min with a spatial resolution higher than 6 nm. At the beginning of the electroplating,gold spike-like structures of about 50 nm in size grew from an electrode, connected gold nanoclusters around them, and form three dimensional nanoscale structures. We visualized the elementary process of the goldelectroplating, and believe that the results lead to the deeper understanding of electroplating at the nanoscale.