Acquisition of an Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope

小行星9615257 这笔赠款提供了90 000美元，作为购买一台新的、最先进的扫描电子显微镜的部分费用，该显微镜配有高分辨率背散射电子探测器、用于轻元素能量色散光谱仪分析的X射线窗口、用于X射线绘图的计算机控制台和数字图像处理系统。 新的扫描电镜将使地球科学系和气象研究所的大批研究人员以及区域用户受益。 购买该仪器的额外资金将由大学配套资金（70，000美元）和美国航天局资助的提案（90，000美元）提供。 新的扫描电镜将取代他们目前的日立S450扫描电镜（约1980年），后者具有摇摇欲坠的EDS，因此提供了不可靠的背散射电子图像和质量差的高分辨率（x5000）图像的地质和行星材料。 新的扫描电镜将有利于大量的项目，包括通过分析扫描电镜扫描的背散射电子图像来阐明成核速率，研究地幔深处橄榄石向β和γ-尖晶石相变的机制和动力学，鉴定早期沉积成岩作用期间的粘土矿物，地壳捕虏体的X射线绘图，以帮助揭示科罗拉多高原下元古代地壳的地球化学演化，磁性矿物相的表征，作为古地磁研究的辅助，薄切片的扫描电镜绘图，以选择合适的区域进行随后的西姆斯分析，以及分析陆上火山岩和行星材料的表面结构等。包括研究生和本科生。 ***

9615257 Brearley This grant provides $90,000 as partial support of the costs of acquiring a new, state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope (SEM) with a high resolution backscattered electron detector, an ultrathin window for light element energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analysis, a computer controlled stage for X-ray mapping and a digital image processing system. The new SEM would benefit a large group of researchers in the Department of Earth Sciences and Institute of Meteoritics as well as regional users. Additional funds for the purchase of this instrument will be provided by University matching funds ($70,000) and a funded NASA proposal ($90,000). The new SEM will replace their current Hitachi S450 SEM (circa 1980) which has a faltering EDS and thus provides unreliable backscattered electron images and poor quality high-resolution (x5000) images of geological and planetary materials. The new SEM will benefit a large number of projects including studies of the mechanisms and kinetics of phase changes of olivine to beta and gamma-spinel at depth within the mantle via analysis of the backscattered electron images from SEM scans to elucidate nucleation rates, identification of clay mineralogy during early sedimentary diagenesis, X-ray mapping of crustal xenoliths to help unravel the geochemical evolution of the Proterozoic crust beneath the Colorado Plateau, characterization of magnetic mineral phases as ancillary to paleomagnetic studies, SEM mapping of thin sections to select appropriate regions for subsequent SIMS analysis and analyses of surface textures of subaerial volcanics and planetary materials etc. etc. The remarkable level of funded research in this group's portfolio will fully subscribe the new SEM which will also aid SEM research projects conducted by both graduate and undergraduate students. ***