MRI: Acquisition of a Slow-Scan CCD Camera for a JEOL 2010F TEM

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This is a proposal to acquire a slow-scan charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to be attached to a newly-installed JEOL Model 2010F field emission gun (FEG) transmission electron microscope (TEM) atBoston College, for recording digital images directly from a TEM to a computer, thus basically replacingthe photographic film recording media in a traditional TEM.The Department of Physics at Boston College recently acquired the JEOL-2010F FEG TEM and finishedits installation in 2002. This advanced TEM is currently playing a key role in education and researchtraining on the nanoscale at Boston College, and for fundamental and applied studies on several materialsand systems. It is thus an indispensable tool for research in the materials-related science programs at BC,and is utilized by faculty and students in four academic departments: Physics, Chemistry, Biology andGeology & Geophysics. We have a number of research projects going on in the above-mentioneddepartments, and the successful fulfillment of these projects depends strongly on the characterizationwork that will be carried out in the new TEM.Unfortunately, we were unable to acquire from the beginning a very important attachment to this TEM,the requested CCD camera. Traditional photographic films are presently used as the recording media,which is a costly, extremely low efficiency and frankly unsuitable solution for such an advancedinstrument. The difference between a CCD camera and film recording is analogous to that between digitaland film-based cameras. With film, TEM images are first exposed, and then the films are developed andfixed in a dark room. After that, the films are either printed in the dark room or scanned to a computer forfurther processing and analysis. The above tedious work that can cost several hours or even a few dayscan instead be accomplished in a few minutes or within an hour by using the CCD camera system.The requested slow-scan CCD camera represents a major innovation in electron microscopy because of itsexceptional imaging characteristics and the benefits associated with immediate image visualization andcomputer processing and analysis. The advantages of a CCD camera are numerous, and include avoidingdelays and chemical waste involved in film processing; providing a higher dynamic range and improvedlinearity which produce better data quality; and recording data in a form immediately suited toprocessing, analysis and archiving. CCD cameras have developed to the point where they can be usedinstead of film in a number of applications, providing rapid feedback on specimen and image quality.Moreover, the detection quantum efficiency of a CCD camera is superior to that of photographicemulsions and is therefore well-suited to acquiring data from radiation-sensitive materials, such asbiological samples, organic materials etc., which has proven to be extremely difficult or impossible by thenormal photographic film method. Direct image acquisition by a CCD camera can reduce thecharacterization time greatly while saving tremendous labor and resources. It can not only greatlyadvance our research in a significantly short turnaround time, but also open new windows for quantitativeelectron microscopy and imaging of radiation-sensitive materials. It will quite positively impact oureducational program, with a graduate-level course being taught every 2 years, open to students from allthe science departments. Each semester, about 6 undergraduate students, 5 graduate students and 4postdocs are trained to use the TEM. The requested CCD camera will facilitate our teaching in such a waythat the students can view their results immediately in a computer, and the feedback informationimmediately guide them to optimize their operation procedure.The research topics for which the TEM is playing an essential role include: novel electronic materials andphenomena involving carbon nanotubes and arrays; unconventional superconductivity in molecularorganic conductors and heavy Fermion materials; new approaches to unanswered questions about thecuprate superconductors; membrane interactions in nerve myelin and molecular organization ofpolypeptides; studies of metallic nanoparticles and nanoporous sol-gel glasses; and studies of the role ofcolloids in the hydrosphere. Support for the research activities that employ the TEM comes from NSF(DMR, CHE, IBN and ECS), ARO, NIH (NCI), DARPA, DoE, NASA, EPA, Sloan and DreyfusFoundations and the ACS Petroleum Research Fund. We describe herein several of these projectsemanating from the multiple PI's programs.