Acquisition of a Field Emission Scanning Microscope with Automated Orientation

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9512579 Kelly A high resolution field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) will be acquired and installed at the Materials Science Center of the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus. The proposed FESEM has two features that make it an essential tool for advancing several areas in materials science. First, the high image resolution capability makes it possible to study microstructural features at the nanometer scale (above 1.2 nanometers) and to examine large sample areas. This allows for the study of materials that are difficult to prepare for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The high resolution capability will be used to study the microstructure of high critical current superconductors, of surfaces modified by ion implantation, and of nanocrystalline ceramics. Second, the instrument is equipped with an electron backscatter diffraction pattern (EBSP) detection and analysis system which makes possible the determination of the orientation of individual grains in a sample. This capability will be used to map the grain orientation in high temperature superconductors and can provide information on the critical current path in these materials. %%% The high resolution scanning electron microscope will serve several research groups on campus working in materials related problems. It replaces an instrument which has five times lower resolution and which is eighteen years old. The new instrument's ability to image large samples at high resolution will make possible routine characterization of advanced materials and will impact a broad range of ongoing programs in materials science. ***