PS-01  - 1D and 2D Materials, Surfaces, and Thin Films

This session focuses on the development and application of advanced microscopy and spectroscopy methods to provide new insight into the structure, composition, and properties of 1-, 2- and low-dimensional materials. The session includes methods for imaging of individual atoms and atomic defects. The session further covers strategies for imaging of sensitive materials and to provide the best conditions for preparing clean samples. Additional topics covered include in situ experiments wherein the materials are subject to external stimuli, such as heat, gas, vapor, liquid or bias, to explore growth or to tailor the structure and chemistry of materials.

PS-02 - Metals and Alloys

This symposium will present recent progress in the field of metals, alloys and intermetallic compounds. The material portfolio includes newly developed materials such as high entropy alloys, chemically complex alloys, metallic materials for the energy transition, metallic materials for a circular economy, metallic glasses and applied materials. This symposium will provide an opportunity to present the contributions of the latest methodological and instrumental developments in microscopy (field mapping, deformation mapping, in situ analysis, correlative microscopy) to scientific fields such as materials design, microstructure evolution, material properties and performance.Contributed papers are very much welcome

PS-03 - Semiconductors, Heterostructures, and Devices

Microscopy techniques are currently heavily used in semiconductor research for applications in microelectronics, optoelectronics, memristors, photovoltaics, bioelectronics, quantum computing and others. In particular electron microscopy is an indispensable technique for nanotechnology with major advances in aberration corrected electron microscopy becoming indispensable in understanding the properties of semiconductor nanostructures, heterostructures and their potential applications. This symposium invites contributions about microscopy methods as applied to the investigation of conventional and new semiconductor materials. This session will include in situ characterization of the growth and structure of semiconductor materials, typically under environmentally relevant conditions, or probing their properties by in-situ characterization of the response of nanomaterials and heterostructures to external stimuli such has heat, light, mechanical stress.

PS-04 - Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage

This session welcomes presentations with focus on advanced characterization of materials and processes at interfaces of liquid/solid/gas in energy technologies, such as electrolysis, fuel cells, batteries, carbon capture and storage (CCS) etc. The methods primarily involve electron, X-ray and optical methods for example correlated with electrochemical or other in operando quantitative measurements. Emphasis is put on new approaches to the signal acquisition, the operando environment, or the data analysis.

PS-05 - Nanoparticles and Catalysts

Nanoparticles and catalysts are vital to develop some of the most important technologies at the heart of global economies; for producing sustainable energy, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and many other key products. Of equal societal importance is impacting increasingly effective environmental controls, waste management and remediation measures. The symposium will evidence and advance developments in electron microscopy, scanning probe, optical and fast time resolved microscopy and modelling studies, of vital interest in the chemical and physical sciences underpinning the technologies. Core components of catalysts are nanoparticles, less structured cluster entities and single atoms. Advanced TEM and STEM methods combined with single atom imaging and high precision analysis, as well as in-situ electron microscopy methods, can also be highly informative in understanding activation, reaction, deactivation and recovery of nanomaterials and catalysts. This knowledge is key to the rational development of novel nanomaterials and catalytic processes. Oral and poster contributions are invited from researchers active in the areas.

PS-06 - Geological Materials and Bio-mineral systems

Understanding the relationship between minerals and biological entities is crucial for comprehending the history and evolution of life on our planet, as well as the current state of our environment and climate. Imaging tools are critical for examining this relationship. This session invites talks and presentations on new imaging techniques applied to old samples, or old imaging techniques applied to new samples, that provide new insights into the interplay between minerals and organic molecules. Examples could include, but are not limited to: innovative approaches to studying bones, new data from old geological samples that reveal new information on early life or the history of life, and new methods for characterizing environmental hazards or remedies. The session welcomes all kinds of imaging techniques, including but not limited to: TEM, SEM, scanning probe techniques, and X-ray techniques including tomography.

PS-07 - Polymers, Soft, and Organic Materials

The 'Polymers, Soft, and Organic Materials' session will showcase the latest advancements in the field of microscopy for the study of polymers, soft materials, and organic materials. The session will cover a wide range of topics, including the synthesis, processing, and characterisation of these materials, as well as their applications in various fields. The session will include the latest research on topics such as nanocomposites, biomaterials, self-healing materials, and conductive polymers, and how microscopy techniques can be used for their analysis.The session will seek to include studies revealing dynamics of these materials such as CryoTEM, in situ techniques such as liquid phase TEM.

PS-08 - Magnetic, Ferroelectric, and Spintronic Materials

Magnetic, ferroelectric and spintronic materials are attracting significant attention as they are key for the development of novel materials with improved properties for various applications, such as energy conversion and storage, magnetic memories and sensors, quantum computers, optics and electronics. In this regard, recent technological innovations in electron microscopy, especially new aberration-correctors, high-speed cameras, pixelated detectors, high-energy resolution EELS and developments in imaging processing along with in-situ technologies, allow a quantum leap in fundamental understanding of the structure and composition of these materials. Probing the atomic structure, ordering, surface structure, as well as defects such as point defects and interfaces of these materials, even while applying external stimuli or under operando conditions, enables to establish a correlation with their outstanding properties. In this context, the goal of this symposium is to bring together renowned researchers from various disciplines who are at the forefront of electron microscopy and are contributing to improve a fundamental understanding of magnetic, ferroelectric and spintronic materials. The symposium will also promote crosstalk at the intersections of frontiers in chemistry, physics, materials science and nanotechnology.

PS-09 - Ceramics and composites

For the ceramics and composite session, we invite contributions presenting recent research on ceramics, composites, complex oxidesand other inorganic material systems. Topics of interest will include applications of advanced electron microscopy techniques to the study of structure, chemistry or electronic structure of atomistic phenomena in both bulk materials and low dimensional systems such as grain boundaries, interfaces, 2D materials, nanosystems, etc. The symposium will also review recent advances of state-of-the-art techniques such as 4D-STEM, in-situ manipulation, fluctuation microscopy, etc., to specific inorganic material systems, microstructure-based development of materials and in particular detailed material characterization.

PS-10 - Quantum Materials

Quantum materials encompass a wide class of systems that are broadly defined as those whose properties are either: unexpected from classical physics, determined by manifestation of quantum mechanical effects at macroscopic length scales, or simply defy explanation by known theoretical frameworks of condensed matter physics. Quantum materials may be well represented by those where any of the following is present: reduced dimensionality (i.e. quantum confinement), strong many-body interactions (e.g. electron-electron or exciton-exciton), nontrivial topology (e.g. topological insulators), and charge-neutral state variables of charge carriers (e.g. spin transport).They remain extremely interesting from the fundamental point of view, and the ability to understand and engineer them holds the key to unleash their full potential in new and sustainable technologies, quantum sensing and quantum information processing to mention a few. In this symposium we will cover major advances of the physics of quantum materials that have been achieved using the most advanced imaging and microscopy techniques.

PS-11 - Nano-scale Optical Materials 

The session will cover a wide range of topics related to nano-scale optical materials, including synthesis and characterization of new materials, the design and fabrication of optical components, and the development of novel applications, with the focus on the physical sciences of nano-scale optical materials from microscopic viewpoint to study their properties and performance. Topics listed in this session includes, but is not limited to:
• Synthesis of novel nano-scale optical materials, such as nanoparticles, nanowires, nanowalls, quantum dots, 2D materials, nanoheterostructures, and their hybrids.
• Design and nanofabrication, including top-down and bottom-up approaches, of structured nano-scale optical materials, such as nanophotonic crystals, metasurface, etc.
• Characterizations on the role of defects and interfaces in determining the optical properties and performance for nano-scale optical materials and components, including microscopy, micro-spectroscopy, and scattering techniques.
• Theoretical modeling and simulation of the optical properties of nano-scale materials and their correlation with microscopy results.
• Applications of nano-scale optical materials, such as in sensing, imaging, communications, and energy harvesting.
• Integration of nano-scale optical materials with other technologies, such as electronics, optoelectronics, and biotechnology.