MRI: Acquisition of a Modern Electron Microprobe, University of Massachusetts

马萨诸塞州大学获得了一种新的、最先进的电子微探针，这使得许多NSF资助的研究项目得以实施，这些项目涉及马萨诸塞州大学的研究人员和五所大学社区(Mt.Smith，Mt.霍利奥克学院、阿默斯特学院和汉普郡学院)，以及许多其他地区和国家机构。这笔核磁共振成像赠款支持购买一种仪器，该仪器将取代老化的电子探针，后者在过去27年里一直是加州大学马萨诸塞州大学的主要微量分析工具，这是加州大学马萨诸塞州大学50年电子探针微观分析遗产的重要组成部分。学生和研究人员在岩石学、地球化学、气候科学、生物、化学、材料研究和工程研究中使用并继续使用成分测绘和成分显微分析设备，对高科技材料的日益重视将继续将这一用途扩展到与物理和工程相关的科学领域的许多令人兴奋的新方向。这笔拨款直接用于支持美国国家科学基金会S促进科学进步，促进国家健康、繁荣和福祉的任务，因为基础研究有可能极大地提高我们对地球和行星过程、涉及生命起源和演化的过程以及资源和技术的勘探和开发的了解。电子探针显微分析仪通过从目标样品产生特征X射线的聚焦电子束，提供微米或更小尺度的非破坏性原位矿物相分析。这些X射线的强度被用来计算目标中特定元素的绝对浓度。可以推断反应历史和形成条件，揭示自然和合成系统的地质或其他相关物理/化学方面，从大陆的形成到生物矿化结构(如甲壳类角质层)，再到光纤、集成电路或合金的结构。新仪器将在更高的电流和电压范围内提供更好的电子束性能，更高分辨率的样品台运动，更好的清洁真空技术，提高精度和分析效率的高计数效率光谱仪，高度改进的，更坚固的电子设备以提高可靠性和稳定性，并极大地改进控制和分析软件。目前由美国国家科学基金会资助的项目包括中地壳过程研究、世界各地岩浆系统的野外和实验研究、光谱学和矿物学的矿物分析、陨石学、环境材料分析，以及为工程学和土壤科学的成分分析研究人员进行的材料测试。新的微探头还将在电子微探头地质年代学的一项重大技术开发项目中发挥重要作用。有了新的微探测器，马萨诸塞州大学的设施将处于有利地位，成为新开发、正在进行的研究和学生培训的地区性资源。许多教职员工和博士后都依赖于美国质量大学的电子探针设备，数百名学生已经与该设备进行了互动，作为学生研究、课堂项目和/或实验室演示的一部分。此外，许多访问实验室的外部研究人员来自非博士授予机构，许多人带着本科生参与分析工作。UMassMicroProbe设备在培训未来的分析员方面发挥了重要作用，包括在UMassus的实践和理论课程，以及培训大量博士后研究员、研究生和本科生。PI已经为马萨诸塞州大学、五所大学和大学外的班级、K-12班级、社区团体和普通公众举办了无数次旅行、实验室演示、研讨会和讲座。这些活动激发了以科学为导向和非科学导向的人们的兴趣，并强化了现代地球科学是一项量化的、高科技的、非常相关的努力的信息。

The acquisition of a new, state-of-the-art electron microprobe at the University of Massachusetts serves to enable numerous NSF funded research projects involving researchers at UMass and the other members of the Five-college community (Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Amherst, and Hampshire colleges), and many other regional and national institutions. This MRI grant supports the acquisition of an instrument that will replace an aging electron probe that was the workhorse micro-analytical tool at UMass for the past 27 years, a significant portion of the 50+ year legacy of electron probe micro-analysis at UMass. Students and researchers have used, and continue to use, the facility for compositional mapping and compositional micro-analysis for research in petrology, geochemistry, climate science, biology, chemistry, materials research, and engineering, and the growing emphasis on high-technology materials will continue to expand this use into exciting new directions in a number of fields of the physical and engineering-related sciences. This grant serves to directly support NSF?s mission to promote the progress of science and advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare as the enabled fundamental research has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of Earth and planetary processes, processes involving the origin and evolution of life, and in the exploration and development of resources and technology.The electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) provides non-destructive, in-situ analysis of mineral phases on the scale of a micrometer or less by use of a focused electron beam that generates characteristic X-rays from the target sample. The intensity of these X-rays is used to calculate the absolute concentrations of specific elements in the target. Reaction histories and the conditions of formation can be inferred, revealing geologic or other relevant physical/chemical aspects of natural and synthetic systems, everything from the formation of continents to biomineralization architectures (such as crustacean cuticles), to the construction of optical fibers, integrated circuits, or alloys. The new instrument will offer much improved electron beam performance over a higher range of current and voltage, higher resolution sample stage motion, better, cleaner vacuum technology, high counting efficiency spectrometers for improved precision and analytical efficiency, highly improved, more robust electronics for improved reliability and stability, and greatly improved control and analysis software. Current projects supported by NSF include studies of mid and deep-crustal processes, field and experimental studies of magmatic systems from around the world, mineral analysis for spectroscopy and mineralogy; meteoritics, environmental materials analysis, as well as materials testing for researchers from engineering and compositional analysis for soil science. The new microprobe will also play an essential role in a major technique development project at UMass, electron microprobe geochronology. With a new microprobe, the UMass facility will be well positioned to move forward as a regional resource for new development, on-going research, and student training. Many faculty members, and post-docs depend on the UMass electron probe facility, and hundreds of students have interacted with the facility as part of student research, class projects, and/or lab demonstrations. In addition, many outside researchers who visit the laboratory are from non-PhD granting institutions and many bring undergraduate students to participate in the analytical work. The UMass Microprobe Facility has played a major role in training future analysts including practical and theoretical courses at UMass and training of a large number of post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The PIs have run numerous tours, lab demonstrations, workshops, and lectures for UMass, Five-college, and outside college classes, for K-12 classes, for community groups, and for the general public. These activities inspire interest in both science-oriented and non-science oriented people, and reinforce the message that modern Geoscience is a quantitative, high-tech, very relevant endeavor.