Acquisition of an Electron Microprobe for Geological and Materials Research at Caltech

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0318518RossmanThis grant provides partial support for the acquisition of a new electron microprobe (EMP) at Caltech's Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences. The EMP will be equipped with five wavelength dispersive spectrometers with specialized spectrometer crystals for light element analytical capabilities, oil-free pumping system, energy dispersive spectrometer, cathodoluminescence spectrometer, high precision specimen stage, and digital imaging capabilities. A high vacuum carbon coater for sample preparation will also be acquired. The new EMP will replace an aging (15 yrs old) JEOL 733 Superprobe and will be immediately employed for ongoing research requiring high precision, microscale, elemental analysis of solid materials. Examples of research applications that will benefit from the new EMP include: studies of elemental portioning between silicate mineral and coexisting liquids in quenched experimental run products, petrologic characterization of meteorites, identification of chemically unzoned mineral grains for subsequent dating via (U-Th)/He geochronology, studies of hydrous components of mantle mineral phases, and studies of non-equilibrium and metastable synthetic materials. ***