Acquisition of An Analytical Field Emission Gun SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope)

来自学术研究基础设施计划的资金将用于购买场发射枪扫描电子显微镜（FE SEM）。外围附件包括能量色散散射（EDS），液氮样品台，电子束诱导电导率（EBIC），以及反向散射通道检测器和分析仪。FE扫描电镜将在1千电子伏特下提供优于5纳米的分辨率，这是西北大学目前的扫描电镜所无法实现的。一些外围设备也是西北大学研究人员的新功能。有限元扫描电镜将用于大量不同的研究项目，包括：结构陶瓷复合材料的裂纹扩展、电陶瓷的晶界现象、先进钢、聚合物和膜材料的微观结构和增韧机制、化学感觉信号转导的超微结构分析、基因调控中的重金属识别、内皮膜骨架的结构、先进的光子和电子器件、金刚石的成核和生长、沸石支撑的金属和双金属催化剂。将获得一种具有更高分辨率的新型场发射扫描电子显微镜和西北大学目前没有的新外围设备，用于广泛的研究课题。这些主题包括陶瓷的研究，先进钢的改进，聚合物和膜材料的研究，生化系统的研究，金刚石和巴基管的合成，先进光子和电子器件的发展，以及沸石负载金属催化剂的研究。

Funds from the Academic Research Infrastructure Program will be employed to acquire a field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FE SEM). Peripheral attachments to be included are energy dispersive scattering (EDS), a liquid nitrogen specimen stage, electron beam induced conductivity (EBIC), and backscattered channeling detector and analyzer. The FE SEM will provide of resolution better than 5 nanometers at 1 kiloelectronvolt, which is not currently available with current SEMs at Northwestern. Several of the peripherals are also new features for Northwestern researchers.The FE SEM will be utilized in a large number of diverse research projects including: crack propagation in structural ceramic composites, grain boundary phenomena in electroceramics, microstructure and toughening mechanisms in advance steels, polymer and membrane materials, ultrastructural analysis of chemosensory signal transduction, heavy metal recognition in gene regulation, structure of the enthrocyte membrane skeleton, advanced photonic and electronic devices, nucleation and growth of diamond, and zeolite supported metallic and bimetallic catalysts. A new field emission scanning electron microscope with much higher resolution and new peripheral devices not currently at Northwestern will be acquired for a broad range of research topics. These topics include the study of ceramics, the improvement of advanced steels, the study of polymers and membrane materials, the study of biochemical systems, the synthesis of diamond and buckytubes, the development of advanced photonic and electronic devices, and the study of zeolite-supported metallic catalysts.