MRI: Acquisition of an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope to Enable Cross-Disciplinary Research and Education

加州大学戴维斯分校（University of California, Davis）几所学院的研究人员使用环境扫描电子显微镜来观察和研究材料随时间的变化，从纳米到整个设备或系统的大小。测量是在材料的工作环境中进行的，例如，从水蒸气到受控类型和压力的气体。该显微镜位于加州大学戴维斯分校主校区材料科学系的一个广泛共享的设施中，为来自校园，医疗中心，当地社区学院，工业以及加利福尼亚州中央山谷的高中教师和学生的用户提供服务。该团队使用“在科学中看到”的总体主题来吸引和增加校园内外未被充分代表的少数民族学生的参与。环境扫描电子显微镜允许团队演示在多个长度尺度上的各种样品在或接近其原始环境的成像，而不需要事先对样品进行处理和准备。获得环境扫描电子显微镜，经过主要研究人员的小修改，可以在高温，施加机械应力和受控气氛下对材料和复杂系统进行原位表征。在高达4000帕斯卡的适当气体或蒸汽环境下操作，可以对绝缘、电子束敏感和水合材料和系统（如陶瓷、聚合物和植物组织）进行成像。利用这台显微镜进行的研究提高了我们跨学科研究课题的基础科学知识，包括金属薄膜的团聚动力学、纳米级加工过程中陶瓷微观结构的演变、纳米结构的三维组装、骨骼的断裂力学、食品安全中的植物-微生物相互作用、透镜的结构-功能关系以及高功率电子设备的失效机制。在调查过程中，研究人员还确定了在不同成像模式、学科和数据源之间实现数据关联的方法。相关表征使得在整个器件结构和整个生物体中实现结构-形态-功能关系成为可能。

Researchers in several colleges at the University of California, Davis use an environmental scanning electron microscope to visualize and study changes in materials with time, from nanometer to the size of a whole device or system. The measurements are carried out in the working environment of materials, e.g., from water vapor to controlled type and pressure of gases. The microscopy is located at a broadly shared facility in the materials science department on the UC Davis main campus, serving users from campus, the medical center, local community colleges, industry and with high-school teachers and students in the Central Valley, California. The team uses a general theme of "Seeing in Science" to attract and increase participation from underrepresented minority students on and off campus. The environmental scanning electron microscope allows the team to demonstrate imaging of various samples on multiple length-scales at or close to their native environments with minimal need of prior sample treatment and preparation.Acquisition of an environmental scanning electron microscopy, with a small modification by the principal investigators, enables in-situ characterization of materials and complex systems under high temperatures, applied mechanical stress, and controlled atmospheres. Operation under appropriate gas or vapor environments up to 4000 Pascals makes it possible to image insulating, electron beam-sensitive and hydrated materials and systems, such as ceramics, polymers and plant tissue. Research conducted using this microscope advances our fundamental scientific knowledge in interdisciplinary research topics, including the agglomeration kinetics of thin metal films, ceramics microstructure evolution during nanoscale processing, 3-dimensional assembly of nanostructures, fracture mechanics of bone, plant-microbe interaction for food safety, structure-functionality relationships of ocular lenses, and failure mechanisms of high-powered electronics. During the course of investigation, the researchers also identify approaches to enable data correlation between different imaging modes, disciplines, and data sources. Correlative characterization makes it possible to achieve structure-morphology-functionality relationships in entire device structures and whole organisms.