Acquisition of a Field Emission Electron Microprobe for Geological Analysis

四十多年来，电子探针微量分析（EPMA）在华盛顿卡内基研究所的研究活动中发挥了核心作用。卡内基工作人员、博士后研究员和外部合作者利用EPMA进行广泛的科学研究，例如分析自然和合成样品，以了解地球的化学成分以及形成地球和相关行星物质的地质过程。该合同将允许获得最先进的场发射（FE）电子微探针系统，用于进行自动化、高分辨率、定量元素微分析、多光谱成像和低能x射线发射测量，这将提高科学吞吐量并使未来的前沿研究成为可能。该系统设计具有高生产率和可靠性，操作程序简单，可由不同技能水平的研究人员进行精确和敏感的原位分析。它将被安置在一个用户友好的设施中，配有专门的设施管理人员，供卡耐基的工作人员、博士后研究员、访问科学家、研究生和暑期实习生使用。该仪器将对实验岩石学和地球物理、高压物理和矿物物理、无机地球化学、太阳系起源和天体生物学等多个领域的研究项目产生重大影响，从而促进跨学科合作。

For more than 40 years, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) has played a central role in the on-going research activities at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Carnegie staff, postdoctoral fellows and external collaborators utilize EPMA for a wide range of scientific research, such as analyzing natural and synthetic samples to understand the chemistry of Earth and the geological processes that have formed it and related planetary materials. This award will permit the acquisition of a state-of-the-art field emission (FE) electron microprobe system to conduct automated, high resolution, quantitative elemental microanalysis, multi-spectral imaging, and low-energy x-ray emission measurements that will improve scientific throughput and enable future cutting-edge research. The system is designed for high productivity and reliability, with easy operating procedures that enable precise and sensitive in situ analyses by researchers of variable skill levels. It will be housed in a user-friendly facility, with a dedicated facilities manager, that will be utilized by staff, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists, graduate students, and summer interns at Carnegie. The instrument will have significant impact on the research programs in a number of fields including experimental petrology and geophysics, high-pressure physics and mineral physics, inorganic geochemistry, solar system origins, and astrobiology, thereby promoting interdisciplinary collaborations.