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

加州大学戴维斯分校几个学院的研究人员使用环境扫描电子显微镜来可视化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。测量在材料的工作环境中进行，例如，从水蒸气到受控类型和压力的气体。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，为来自校园、医疗中心、当地社区学院、工业界的用户以及加州中央谷的高中教师和学生提供服务。该团队使用“在科学中看到”的一般主题来吸引和增加校园内外代表性不足的少数民族学生的参与。环境扫描电子显微镜使研究小组能够演示各种样品在多个长度尺度上的成像，这些样品处于或接近其原生环境，而无需进行样品处理和制备。获得环境扫描电子显微镜，并由主要研究人员进行小的修改，可以在高温，施加机械应力，和可控气氛。在高达4000帕斯卡的适当气体或蒸汽环境下工作，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。使用这种显微镜进行的研究推进了我们在跨学科研究课题中的基础科学知识，包括薄金属膜的团聚动力学，纳米级加工过程中的陶瓷微观结构演变，纳米结构的三维组装，骨的断裂力学，食品安全的植物-微生物相互作用，眼透镜的结构-功能关系，以及高功率电子设备的故障机制。在调查过程中，研究人员还确定了使不同成像模式、学科和数据源之间的数据相关性的方法。相关表征使得在整个器械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.