MRI: Acquisition of a Shared ESEM Facility for the Colorado School of Mines

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The Colorado School of Mines will to establish an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) laboratory to meet the growing research and education needs of the CSM campus. The proposed ESEM laboratory will be a shared-use facility, with extensive participation from the majority of departments across campus. The facility will augment the recently established electron microscopy center in the materials science department, providing a focal point to enrich undergraduate and graduate education. In addition, it will serve as a resource facility for local industry. The proposed to acquire an ESEM equipped with temperature controlled sample stages (both heated and cooled), as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) for elemental mapping. This configuration was chosen as the optimum with respect to maximizing versatility at a reasonable cost. An ESEM retains the performance advantages of a conventional SEM, but removes the high vacuum (10-6 torr) constraints. The ESEM derives its name from its ability to manipulate the sample environment through a range of pressure (10-6. 20 torr), temperature (-20 - 1000 degrees C), and gas composition. The flexibility offered by this research will allow it to find widespread use on the CSM campus.