Acquisition of a Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope for the Microscopy Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

摘要- 9970099该奖项支持收购飞利浦XL 30 FEG扫描电子显微镜（SEM）与背散射电子探测器，集成EDAX非色散X射线微量分析系统，和Cressington 208 HR涡轮溅射镀膜机。 高分辨率XL 30及其支持设备将取代使用了15年的ISI SX 40扫描电镜，该扫描电镜的功能非常有限。 XL 30将大大增强七个不同的研究项目，其中四个项目目前由美国国家科学基金会的项目赠款。 这些研究项目涵盖广泛的主题，从海豚鲸脂的超微结构到甲壳类动物和其他生物形成钙化结构的机制。 所描述的广泛的主题表明了仪器，事实上，显微镜作为一个整体可以添加到几乎任何一组实验程序中获得的科学信息。 XL 30还将大大提高UNCW为研究生和本科生提供的分析工具和培训的范围。XL 30由于使用低加速电压，因此可以查看未涂层和涂层样品。例如，对生物矿化感兴趣的研究人员可以在XL 30可视化后，用原子力显微镜（AFM）检查牡蛎壳中方解石晶体和有机基质之间的界面。 捕获高分辨率图像并随后在同一样本上使用多种分析工具（例如AFM，核磁共振，材料测试，抗体探针）的能力将大大增强正在进行的研究计划。 X射线分析部分，特别是绘图能力，也将加强几个项目。UNCW的显微镜实验室是不断发展的生物和海洋科学项目的一部分，该项目包括一个新的1800万美元的实验室科学大楼和一个1700万美元的海洋科学设施，该设施已接近完工。 除了支持所描述的具体计划外，国家科学基金会对XL 30的支持将大大增加UNCW可能进行的分析和微观研究的范围，并加强其不断增长的基础研究计划。

Abstract - 9970099 This award supports the acquisition of a Philips XL30 FEG scanning electron microscope (SEM) with a backscattered electron detector, an integrated EDAX non-dispersive X-ray microanalysis system, and a Cressington 208 HR turbo sputter coater. The high-resolution XL30 and its support equipment will replace a 15 year old ISI SX40 SEM, that has extremely limited capabilities. The XL30 will greatly enhance seven different research programs, four of which are presently supported by project grants from the National Science Foundation. These research projects cover a wide range of topics, from the ultrastructure of dolphin blubber to the mechanisms whereby crustaceans and other organisms form calcified structures. The wide range of topics described indicates how an instrument, and, in fact, microscopy as a whole can add to the scientific information to be gained from almost any set of experimental procedures. The XL30 will also greatly enhance the range of analytical tools and training offered to graduate and undergraduate students at UNCW.The XL30, because of its use of low accelerating voltages, allows one to view uncoated, as well as coated specimens. Investigators interested in biomineralization could, for example, examine the interface between calcite crystals and organic matrix in oyster shell with an atomic force microscope (AFM) after it has been visualized with the XL30. The ability to capture a high resolution image and subsequently use multiple analytic tools (e.g. AFM, nuclear magnetic resonance, material testing, antibody probes) on the same specimen would greatly enhance the on-going research programs. The X-ray analysis component, especially the mapping capabilities, will likewise enhance several programs.The Microscopy Laboratory at UNCW is part of a growing Biological and Marine Sciences Program that includes a new 18 million dollar laboratory-sciences building and a 17 million dollar Marine Sciences Facility that is nearing completion. In addition to supporting the specific programs described, National Science Foundation support of a XL30 would greatly increase the scope of the analytical and microscopic research possible at UNCW and enhance its growing basic research programs.