MRI: Acquisition of an Electron Back Scattering Diffraction System to Advance Materials Research and Education at Clarion University

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This instrument acquisition grant funds an electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) system to update an existing scanning electron microscope at Clarion University. EBSD is a powerful instrument for crystal structure analysis, especially at and near the micrometer scale. With the addition of this instrument, researchers carry out in-house basic materials characterization research, ranging from morphology observation, elemental analysis, to crystal structure characterization. The instrument impacts the research activities in areas of physics, biology, chemistry, anthropology, and geology. Located in rural western Pennsylvania, Clarion University is roughly a two-hour drive from any major cities or other academic centers. Consequently, in addition to its mission in undergraduate education, Clarion University also assumes the responsibility of spreading knowledge to surrounding communities, sharing resources with local school districts, and supporting businesses. Along this line, the microscope is used in undergraduate research, course teaching, and high school outreach activities.Faculty members at Clarion University strive to develop research activities that are valuable and plausible at a teaching university setting. Topics related to material science fit this goal and are popular on campus. The EBSD function added to the existing scanning electron microscope makes the instrument possible to identify crystal phases and study their variations in different locations of microscopic materials. Sample research projects enabled by the enhanced capabilities of the microscope include orientation analysis of icosahedral quasicrystalline thin films and novel concentric rings found in aluminum-copper-iron alloys, crystal structure analysis of boron nitride nanosheets, identification of Native American pottery, phase identification of nanodiamond, and structure analysis of organic crystals.