Lab for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
Published: 14 March 2014
Merlin SEM lab
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is a technique where an electron beam under vacuum conditions is focused onto a solid sample surface. The electrons from the beam interacts with electrons in the sample, generating different types of signal that can be detected and provide information about sample surface topography and chemical composition of the sample.
The electron microscope is a high-resolution (ca. 0.8 nm) Zeiss Merlin FEG-SEM, equipped with:
- double BSE detectors
- double SE detectors
- EDS (energy dispersive spectrometry)
- WDS (wavelength dispersive spectrometry)
For EDS/WDS analysis the Inca and Aztec softwares from Oxford Instruments are used.
The lab for scanning electron microscopy is closely associated with the lab for laser ablation ICP MS.
Senior researcher in charge of the Merlin lab: Dr Glenn Bark (Senior Lecturer in Ore Geology).
