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Facility Use
The Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Facility is located
in the subbasement of the Keck Engineering Laboratory (Room
042). We have two transmission electron microscopes for materials
research, both maintained under contract with FEI Service.
The FEI Tecnai F30UT (300kV) is used for high resolution imaging and EDX analysis. It
is equipped with a high angle annular dark field detector, an Oxford ultra-thin
window EDX detector and an AMT CCD camera. This TEM is available jointly
through KNI, CSEM(NSF MRSEC) and Materials Science.
Our Philips EM420 (120 kV) is used for imaging and EELS spectrometry. A
Philips’ heating holder and a Gatan liquid nitrogen cooling holder are available.
Specimen preparation facilities include electrochemical polishing
and ion milling equipment, plus the standard tools of metallography.
The TEM facility has seen wide use from scientists across
the Caltech campus in the Divisions of Engineering and Applied
Science, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Biology, Geology
and Planetary Sciences, and Physics Mathematics and Astronomy.
We also encourage the use of the facility by scientists and
engineers from the Los Angeles area. At present there are several
active interactions with industrial and academic users from
outside the Caltech campus. Carol Garland is the contact person
for inquiries about the feasibility of microscopy analysis,
and she can manage a number of preliminary or short-term projects.
Training is available for users with long-term research projects.
Scheduling is done by contacting the professional staff to
make an appointment. Collaborative research is also welcome
in cases where the interests of Caltech and the outside users
coincide.
Rates charged to users are determined annually and vary with the instrument,
amount of support needed, and billing arrangements required. For current rates
and services available, contact:
Carol M. Garland, Member of the Professional Staff
Fax:
626-795-6132
Phone: 626-395-2168
FEI TF30UT transmission electron
microscope is used for research. This 300kV field
emission TEM is equipped with a HAADF STEM detector, an
Oxford energy dispersive x-ray detector, and a high resolution
CCD camera.
Philips EM420 analytical transmission electron microscope is
used for both teaching and research. This 120kV TEM is run with a tungsten filament.
Accessories include a Gatan PEELS spectrometer and a CCD camera.
Nikon reflected light microscope with polarizer, analyzer, and
Nomarski illumination is used for metallurgical studies. It has a CCD camera
for Digital Imaging.
The preparation of a sample that is transparent to electrons
is frequently the critical step in the TEM characterization
of a material. The sample preparation laboratory in 042
Keck includes standard and specialized equipment needed
to prepare samples for observation by optical or transmission
electron microscopy.
- Ion mill for thinning sample
- Evaporator for coating samples
or making thin films
- Ultramicrotome for sectioning
materials at room temperature.
- Dimpler for pre-thinning samples
- Chemical thinning equipment and fume
hoods
- Tripod polisher
- Ultrasonic disc cutter
- Slow speed diamond saw for cutting samples
- Sanding and polishing equipment for pre-thinning and finishing
samples
- Stereo microscopes
- Plasma cleaner
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