Acquisition of a High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope for Materials Research at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University, Provo UT

Investigators

Abstract

This grant supports the acquisition, by the Brigham Young University (BYU), of a new environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) with a Schottky field emission gun (FEG), configured for advanced applications of (automated) microdiffraction via electron backscattering patterns (EBSP) coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The selected instrument is the Philips XL-30 ESEM FEG, with an integrated EDAX Falcon EDS/EBSP system. Improved spatial resolution in both standard contrast and microdiffraction modes, environmental capability that facilitates the examination of low-Z and non-conductive samples and in sensitive biological samples, and the capability to integrate EDS and EBSP analysis in a fully-automated mode (feedback-controlled scanning through the digital interface) for studies of grain boundaries and interfaces, are some of the features of the proposed system that are urgently needed for the advancement of on-going research within the Colleges of Engineering and Technology, Biology and Agriculture and Physical and Mathematical Sciences. The digital and environmental capabilities of this instrument will also advance educational initiatives within BYU, enabling an order-of-magnitude increase in the numbers of undergraduates that can be exposed to structures that require high-resolution imaging. This grant supports the purchase of an advanced scanning electron microscope for it's Electron Optics Laboratory. This new system is configured for high resolution imaging of materials, including sensitive biological samples and non-conducting materials. This breadth of capability is due to it's specialized chamber and lens system, which can operate over a wide range of environmental conditions. The new microscope will also be equipped for micro-chemistry analysis of samples by traditional energy dispersive spectrometry, and for microdiffraction (for crystallite orientation and phase determination) using a low-light television camera for viewing electron backscattered diffraction patterns. The new instrument has a digital interface, capable of providing fully automated studies of the network of grain boundaries and other internal interfaces in crystalline materials. The digital and environmental capabilities of the instrument will also advance educational initiatives within BYU, enabling much larger numbers of undergraduate and graduate students to be exposed to the new insights that attend high-resolution imaging of materials and structures.