Soft functional materials: from Imaging to Functions
Chairs: Nadezda Tarakina (Saarbrücken / DE), Joerg Jinschek (Jyngby / DK), Kathryn Grandfield (MacMaster / CA)
Soft functional materials, porous crystals and hybrid materials with soft/hard interfaces form the basis for advances in catalysis, separations, energy storage, and biomaterials. However, their structural complexity, dynamics, and beam sensitivity present major challenges for microscopy. This symposium brings together state-of-the-art approaches for imaging, diffraction, spectroscopy, and correlative analysis across length scales and under external/in-situ stimuli. Contributions are invited on cryogenic and low-dose electron microscopy, electron diffraction, phase contrast imaging methods, 4D-STEM and ptychography, in situ and operando methods, advanced sample preparation, dose management, quantitative analysis, and data-driven reconstruction. The symposium will highlight robust workflows that connect structure, interfaces, and dynamics to material function.
Functional Oxides and Ceramics
Chairs: Lorenz Kienle (Kiel / DE), Y. Eren Suyolcu (Stuttgart / DE)
The properties of functional oxides and ceramics are frequently set at interfaces, domain walls, grain boundaries and point defects. This symposium covers microscopy and spectroscopy of these materials, from the atomic to the microstructural scale, in thin films, heterostructures, membranes and bulk. We invite contributions on ferroelectrics and piezoelectrics, including hafnia-based and wurtzite-type systems; on superconductors and other oxide quantum materials; on multiferroics and magnetoelectrics; on wide-bandgap oxide semiconductors; and on ionic conductors, memristive oxides and structural ceramics. Topics include polar textures, strain and octahedral distortions; interfacial charge transfer; oxygen stoichiometry and topotactic transformations; grain-boundary structure and segregation; and phase transitions followed in situ or at cryogenic temperatures. Studies linking microscopy to synthesis, properties or theory are encouraged. Contributions centered on a functional oxide or ceramic are welcome even where they touch on energy, devices or magnetism.
Imaging Magnetic Textures
Chairs: Sebastian Schneider (Dresden / DE), Sascha Schäfer (Regensburg / DE)
Magnetic textures can today be routinely imaged using a range of transmission electron microscopy techniques, including Lorentz TEM, STEM-DPC, 4D-STEM, electron holography, and EMCD. Current research is increasingly focused on advanced methodologies enabling quantitative characterization, atomic-resolution mapping, three-dimensional reconstruction, and in-situ investigations of magnetic phenomena. In particular, the study of domain walls and topological spin textures such as skyrmions has driven the development of electron microscopy techniques capable of probing their structure, dynamics, and interactions under external stimuli.
This symposium highlights recent advances in electron-based magnetic imaging and spectroscopy techniques, including the real-time and stroboscopic observation of spin-texture dynamics, in-situ control by electric currents, magnetic fields, strain, or temperature, as well as emerging approaches that push magnetic characterization beyond conventional imaging limitations.
Spectromicroscopy of Biological and Bioinspired Materials
Chairs: Darius Pohl (Dresden / DE), Igor Zlotnikov (Dresden / DE)
Over the last half a billion years, living organisms have evolved the ability to form morphologically, structurally, and crystallographically complex materials with remarkable functional properties. These biological materials have inspired numerous attempts to reproduce their structures and functions by synthetic means. However, understanding the relationships between their formation mechanisms, chemical composition, structure, and functionality across multiple length scales remains a major challenge. Recent advances in analytical electron microscopy provide unprecedented opportunities to investigate these relationships by combining high-resolution imaging with spatially resolved spectroscopic and crystallographic information. This symposium invites contributions exploring biological, biomineralized, and bioinspired materials using advanced analytical electron microscopy techniques, including (S)TEM, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), and related methods. Particular emphasis will be placed on studies linking local chemistry, structure, and crystallography to material formation, properties, and function.
Semiconductor Device Structures in Industry and Academia
Chairs: Kerstin Volz (Marburg / DE), Dirk Uteß (Dresden / DE)
The performance of novel semiconductor devices strongly depends on their steadily decreasing dimensions, the incorporation of new materials, and the realization of alternative design concepts. The ultimate spatial resolution and spectro-microscopic capabilities offered by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) make it a key characterization tool in this field. However, the objectives and applications of TEM differ considerably between industry and academia. While semiconductor manufacturing requires fast, robust, and reproducible characterization methods, academic research is often focused on exploratory studies, methodological advances, and instrumental developments.
This symposium aims to bring together researchers from both communities to foster communication, mutual understanding of challenges and opportunities, and stronger academic-industrial collaboration. We invite oral and poster presentations on industrial characterization protocols for semiconductor devices, as well as state-of-the-art TEM studies of novel materials and device concepts, spatially resolved measurements of physical properties, and advances in TEM methodologies and instrumentation.
Energy Related Materials
Chairs: Benjamin Butz (Siegen / DE), Ali Ahmadian (Karlsruhe /DE)
Alloys and Metals
Chairs: Gerhard Dehm (Düsseldorf / DE), Yolita Eggeler (Karlsruhe / DE)
This symposium highlights recent advances in metallic metals, alloys, and intermetallic compounds, including high-entropy alloys, steel, sustainable materials for the energy transition and circular economy, metallic glasses, high-temperature materials, advanced steels and light-metal alloys.
Particular emphasis is placed on how modern electron microscopy contributes to understanding microstructure evolution, defects, interfaces, phase transformations and deformation mechanisms, and helps reveal the underlying mechanisms governing material behavior during processing and service. Contributions employing advanced SEM and TEM techniques, strain and field mapping, in situ microscopy, correlative approaches, 4D-STEM, ptychography, and automated or data-driven characterization workflows are especially welcome
Disordered and Nanostructured Materials
Chairs: Harald Rösner (Münster /DE), Rolf Erni (Dübendorf / CH)
Nanostructured crystalline materials have attracted sustained interest as they offer strategies to tailor physical properties that otherwise are difficult or impossible to realize. Their nanoscale building blocks give rise to distinctive properties, including high surface-area-to-volume ratios, size-dependent effects, and enhanced mechanical strength. Amorphous materials, particularly metallic glasses, have also attracted considerable interest since their discovery in the early 1960s. In both fields, advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) - including in situ methods, nanobeam diffraction mapping including 4D-STEM, and analytical techniques - is essential for characterizing structure and behavior. This joint session welcomes contributions on nanostructured and amorphous materials, including semiconductors, metals, (high-entropy) alloys, oxide and metallic glasses, and other disordered systems. Particular emphasis will be placed on methodological advances and on understanding structure–property relationships in these materials.
Two-Dimensional Materials
Chairs: Jannik Meyer (Tübingen / DE), Ute Kaiser (Ulm / DE)
This symposium welcomes contributions exploring advanced high-resolution electron microscopy and spectroscopy with two-dimensional (2D) materials. Topics can include, but are not limited to, the analysis of novel two-dimensional systems, van der Waals heterostructures and encapsulation in 2D materials, low-voltage aberration corrected (S)TEM for minimizing or understanding radiation damage, and controlled electron-beam induced manipulation. Moreover, technical developments such as 4D-STEM, Ptychography or automated data acquisition and analysis can be included if they address aspects that are specific to this material class.
Finding the Needle in a Haystack - CLEM Approaches
Chairs: Indra Banas (Duisburg / DE), Andreas Klingl (München / DE)
Biological processes can have a large effect on an organism or its environment, even if they occur on a small spatial or temporal scale. Methodological improvements enable the detection of low abundant events or cells within native samples. This session aims to present current improvements and methods that extend our knowledge, including but not exclusively sample preparation and herein correlative and multimodal approaches using microscopy and spectroscopy on biological and environmental samples. Methods challenging low signal intensities, high background signals and amplifications are encouraged. Examples of such methods are strategies that facilitate the ultrastructural investigation of so-called ‘microbial dark matter’ which usually escape a more detailed analysis as they are often not cultivatable in laboratories or exhibit a very low abundance within natural environments. Further examples may include cellular events that are very short or fast and are therefor difficult to target with classical electron microscopic techniques.
Visualization, Exploration and Communication of Electron Microscopy Data
Chairs: Andreas Müller (Dresden / DE), Deborah Schmidt (Berlin / DE)
Modern electron microscopy (EM) generates image datasets of unprecedented size and complexity, creating new challenges not only for data acquisition and analysis but also for visualization, exploration and communication. This session addresses the full downstream pipeline of EM data - from interactive 3D rendering and immersive visualization tools including virtual reality, to the preparation of publication-quality figures and publicly accessible datasets for outreach and open science.
As large-scale volumetric and cryo EM become increasingly accessible across life science disciplines, the ability to effectively explore, present and communicate three-dimensional ultrastructural data is becoming an essential skill for the broader microscopy community. Contributions to this session are invited from researchers working on visualization software and pipelines, virtual reality and augmented reality applications for scientific data exploration, best practices for figure and data preparation, and strategies for making complex volumetric datasets accessible to specialist and non-specialist audiences alike.
Volume EM for Cells and Tissues
Chairs: Wiebke Möbius (Göttingen / DE), Paul Verkade (Bristol / UK)
For a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of intracellular organelle structure or intricate tissue architecture, volume EM (vEM) became an indispensable and powerful tool. Various approaches are currently applied to gain access to larger volume data from cells and tissues. These include serial section-based methods as well as destructive applications such as serial block-face imaging by scanning EM using knife-based methods or focused-ion beam scanning EM.
In this session we will discuss the latest research with applications of vEM focusing on topics around organellar structure and function, cell-cell interaction from various field of life science research. We also encourage contributions addressing challenges linked to the sample preparation, imaging and data analysis.
Biology in 3D by Cryo-(S)TEM
Chairs: Anna Steyer (Heidelberg / DE), Sven Klumpe (Wien / AT)
Our understanding of how cells work will benefit tremendously from observing their molecular machinery in the native context of the cell, in three dimensions and free of fixation or staining artifacts. Cryo-electron microscopy makes this possible by imaging vitrified biological specimens preserved in a near-native, fully hydrated state. This session covers recent advances in three-dimensional cryo-imaging with both transmission (TEM) and scanning transmission (STEM) electron microscopy, from macromolecular complexes to whole cells and tissues.
Contributions will address cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging for in situ structural biology, and cryo-STEM tomography for thicker specimens beyond the limits of conventional TEM. They will also cover sample preparation workflows, including cryo-FIB lamella milling, lift-out and correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM). The development of these technologies will be discussed as key enablers to target specific cellular events and increase cellular context obtained. Beyond these technical advances, session topics include software advances such as low-dose acquisition strategies, automation, and AI-driven microscopy and data analysis.
The session aims to bring together method developers and life scientists to explore how 3D cryo-(S)TEM is closing the gap between molecular structure and cellular function.
Multimodal Imaging and AI-assisted Analyses of Intracellular Processes
Chairs: Petr Chlanda (Heidelberg / DE), Sonja Welsch (Frankfurt / DE)
Intracellular processes are dynamic and organised across different scales; no single imaging technique can capture all aspects of such processes. Combining complementary imaging modalities with modern computational tools opens up new ways to study how cells and their organelles function in health and disease. Advances in artificial intelligence now make it possible to analyse large and complex multimodal datasets in a more automated, quantitative and reproducible way.
This session will focus on integration of different imaging approaches and AI-assisted data analysis. Topics around intracellular structure, dynamics and function, and the challenges linked to data acquisition, integration and interpretation will be covered.
The Art of Sample Preparation
Chairs: Katharina Hipp (Tübingen / DE), Felix Lange (Dresden / DE)
Sample preparation is the foundation of successful electron microscopy, directly impacting the quality and reliability of subsequent analyses. This symposium invites abstracts showcasing innovative sample preparation techniques, protocol optimizations, and interdisciplinary approaches tailored to life sciences applications. We encourage submissions that address challenges, present novel solutions, and explore emerging trends in sample preparation.
Cryo-EM and Image Analysis of Macromolecular Assemblies
Chairs: Arne Möller (Osnabrück / DE), Jürgen Plitzko (Martinsried / DE)
Multidimensional Electron Diffraction: from 3D Electron Diffraction to 4D-STEM and Beyond
Chairs: Tatiana Gorelik (Jülich / DE), Mingjian Wu (Erlangen / DE)
Electron diffraction has developed from a primarily crystallographic tool into a quantitative, multidimensional methodology for structural characterization across a broad range of specimens. This symposium will focus on multidimensional electron diffraction approaches, with particular emphasis on 3D electron diffraction, electron crystallography, scanning nanobeam diffraction, diffraction-based 4D-STEM, precession electron diffraction, CBED and electron pair-distribution-function analysis. Related developments in ptychography, differential phase contrast and pixelated-detector STEM are also included where they contribute to quantitative structural analysis. Contributions are encouraged on experimental workflows, instrumentation, data processing, structure solution and refinement, orientation and strain mapping, dose-efficient acquisition, and applications to crystalline, nanocrystalline, partially ordered and beam-sensitive systems.
Correlative and Multidimensional Microscopy for Materials Research
Chairs: Erdmann Spiecker (Erlangen / DE), Benjamin Apeleo Zubiri (Erlangen / DE), Christian Kübel (Karlsruhe / DE)
Recent advances in correlative 2D/3D microscopy and data-driven methodologies are redefining materials research. This symposium spotlights emerging correlative and multimodal microscopy, emphasizing electron microscopy and its integration with complementary techniques for multidimensional, multiscale analysis. Topics include advanced SEM/TEM/STEM, electron tomography, serial sectioning and 3D FIB/SEM, as well as correlative workflows coupling EM with nanoCT/microCT, X-ray diffraction/scattering, optical and spectroscopic methods, and physisorption or intrusion-based characterization.
We highlight approaches that combine structural, chemical, and functional information across scales and modalities. A major focus is data-driven characterization: multimodal registration, correlation and fusion, reconstruction and segmentation, super-resolution, uncertainty quantification, and AI-assisted analysis. We also invite contributions on automated acquisition and navigation, high-throughput workflows, interoperable data formats, rich metadata, and FAIR principles. The symposium connects the EM and tomography community with correlative, multiscale, and computational approaches, providing a forum for challenges, advances, and opportunities in quantitative 2D/3D materials microscopy.
Phase-Sensitive Methods - Mapping Fields and Potentials
Chairs: Philipp Pelz (Erlangen / DE), Laura Niermann (Berlin / DE)
Phase-sensitive electron microscopy enables the quantitative characterization of structures, fields, and potentials with nanoscale precision. This symposium brings together a broad spectrum of techniques, from electron ptychography, differential phase contrast (DPC, iDPC), structured illumination to off-axis and in-line electron holography. By accessing the phase of the electron wave, these approaches reveal magnetic and electric field distributions, electrostatic potentials at atomic resolution, and strain fields over multiple length scales. We invite presentations introducing novel reconstruction strategies, methodological and instrumental developments, and materials science studies.
New Developments in SEM and FIB
Chairs: Ute Golla-Schindler (Aalen / DE), Vita Solovyeva (Oldenburg / DE), Dirk Berger (Berlin / DE)
This symposium addresses recent advances in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) technology, including instrumentation, analytical methodologies, image analysis, and emerging applications in materials science and the life sciences.
Topics include novel detector concepts, faster acquisition, enhanced analytical capabilities, transmission SEM, and low-charge and low-dose imaging. Advances in low-voltage SEM, particularly at landing energies below 500 eV, offer new insights into electron–matter interactions and image contrast mechanisms. Contributions on FIB applications in advanced imaging, milling, volume electron microscopy, and sample preparation are also encouraged.
Correlative and multimodal approaches integrating SEM with computed tomography, light microscopy, mass spectrometry, cathodoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence are also welcome. Further topics include SEM data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, AI-assisted experimentation, and in situ and operando studies. Contributions presenting methodological innovations, technological developments, and novel applications are invited.
Ultrafast Microscopy and Quantum Physics
Chairs: Nahid Talebi (Kiel / DE), Martin Kozak (Prag / CZ)
Recent breakthroughs in ultrafast microscopy are revolutionizing our ability to probe and manipulate quantum phenomena in matter with exceptional spatial and temporal precision. This symposium will unite researchers exploring the frontiers of ultrafast electron microscopy, quantum materials, and light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. Topics will encompass femtosecond and attosecond dynamics, coherent control of electrons and photons, quantum electron microscopy, nonequilibrium dynamics in condensed matter, and innovative experimental methods for resolving quantum coherence, correlations, and topology at the nanoscale.
Advanced Spectroscopy
Chairs: Stefan Löffler (Wien / AT), Johan Verbeeck (Antwerpen / BE)
Spectroscopy is a cornerstone of modern microscopy, providing access to material properties beyond structural imaging. By probing inelastic interactions between the electron beam and the specimen, spectroscopic techniques reveal chemical composition, bonding, electronic structure, optical excitations, and magnetic properties across a wide range of length scales.
This symposium provides a platform for presenting and discussing recent advances in electron microscopy-based spectroscopic methods, including electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), electron energy-gain spectroscopy (EEGS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Auger electron spectroscopy, cathodoluminescence (CL), electron magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD), and related techniques. Particular emphasis is placed on developments that expand the sensitivity, energy resolution, spatial resolution, and quantitative capabilities of spectroscopy in the electron microscope.
Contributions are invited on all aspects of advanced spectroscopy, ranging from instrumentation and detector technologies to novel experimental approaches, multimodal and correlative methodologies, data analysis, machine learning, theory, modelling, and simulations. Applications to materials science, nanotechnology, energy materials, catalysis, quantum materials, semiconductors, and life sciences are also welcome.
In Situ/Operando Electron Microscopy
Chairs: Leopoldo Molina-Luna (Darmstadt / DE), Marc Willinger (München / DE)
In situ and operando electron microscopy enables direct observation of dynamic processes in materials and devices under controlled environmental and operating conditions. Recent advances in instrumentation, sample environments, fast detectors, and data acquisition have expanded the possibilities for studying structural, chemical, and functional transformations with high spatial and temporal resolution. This symposium focuses on recent developments in in situ and operando SEM and TEM, including heating, cooling, electrical biasing, mechanical deformation, illumination, and gas or liquid environments. Contributions are encouraged on phase transformations, defect and interface dynamics, ionic transport, chemical reactions, and degradation mechanisms in functional materials and devices. Particular emphasis is placed on quantitative imaging and spectroscopy, correlative approaches, automated experimentation, AI-assisted data analysis, and studies linking dynamic microstructural processes to material properties and functionality.
AI in Materials Science
Chairs: Stefan Sandfeld (Jülich / DE), Nigel Browning (Liverpool / UK)