Improving a Microscopy Course: Integrating Electron Microscopy with Scanning Probe Microscopy

University Of Missouri-Kansas City, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

Physics (13) With its capability of visualization and manipulation at atomic and molecular levels, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has become one of the most important advancements in science and technology in the past decade. This project is adapting and integrating SPM into a two-semester Electron Microscopy (EM) course that has been taught at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). The addition of SPM instrumentation to the course gives students a broader view and experience on the cutting edge microscopy technologies. The integration also allows a more efficient approach in teaching the subject, because the course covers a wider range of techniques used in microscopy and emphasizes the application of these techniques in various fields. The improvement of the course is being achieved by introducing, in addition to the existing hands-on experiments on EM, two verification-type experiments using SPM to visualize atomic structures on well-defined crystalline surfaces in the first semester. This is followed, in the second semester, by three inquiry-based experiments that involve both SPM and EM. The improved course enhances the interdisciplinary education in science, mathematics, engineering and technology at UMKC.