High performance microanalysis upgrades to field emission scanning electron microscope

达尔豪斯大学的场发射扫描电子显微镜（SEM）设施是材料研究所（IRM）的一部分。它已经为大西洋加拿大公司的用户提供了7年多的成像和分析服务。迄今为止，材料科学、物理、工程、化学、地球科学、生物学和医学领域的400多名HQP研究人员已经将扫描电镜与能量色散x射线光谱（EDS）和电子背散射衍射（EBSD）的附件一起使用。该设施目前由达尔豪斯和加拿大大西洋地区的80个HQP定期使用。在许多情况下，这是他们推进研究和进一步了解他们创造和测试的创新材料的唯一区域手段。虽然核心单元本身工作良好，但许多外围功能现在处于失修状态。这些项目最近开始以惊人的速度退化，导致系统频繁关闭，导致HQP研究严重延误，维修工作花费数千美元。目前的问题可以通过购买几个项目来完全解决，这些项目将取代不可靠的组件，同时使HQP可以从系统中获得的数据的质量、数量和性质得到重大改进。其中一项是更换操作系统和运行SEM的计算机。第二个是硅漂移检测器（SDD），需要取代我们的坏Si（Li）检测器。SDD封装以牛津仪器X-Max 80探测器为前提。它可以以极快的计数率完成化学分析，非常适合于精细样品（纳米材料，薄膜）的EDS工作，在操作过程中不需要液氮，并且几乎无需维护。最后一个项目是牛津5频道ICDS晶体材料结构数据库。这是其他支出的自然延伸，将有助于复杂材料的相识别。申请团队以他们个人的名义和我们整个SEM用户社区的名义努力为这些项目争取资金。

The field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) facility at Dalhousie University is part of the Institute for Research in Materials (IRM). It has provided imaging and analytical services to users from Atlantic Canada for over 7 years. To date, more than 400 HQP researchers in Materials Science, Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Biology, and Medicine have utilized the SEM in conjunction with the attachments for energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD). The facility is currently accessed by 80 HQP within Dalhousie and the surrounding Atlantic Canada region on a regular basis. In many instances, it is the only regional means for them to advance their research and further their understanding of the innovative materials they create and test. Whereas the core unit itself is in exceptional working order, a number of the peripheral features are now in a state of disrepair. These items have recently begun to degrade at an alarming pace prompting frequent system shut downs that have invoked serious delays in HQP research and thousands of dollars in repair work. The issues at hand can be fully resolved with the purchase of several items that will replace the unreliable components and simultaneously enable major improvements in the quality, quantity, and nature of data that HQP can acquire from the system. One item is a replacement of the operating system and computer that runs the SEM. The second is a silicon drift detector (SDD) needed to replace our ailing Si(Li) detector. The SDD package is premised on the Oxford Instruments X-Max 80 detector. It can complete chemical analyses at exceptionally fast counting rates, is ideally suited for EDS work on delicate specimens (nano-materials, thin films), requires no liquid nitrogen during operation, and is virtually maintenance free. The final item is an Oxford Channel 5 ICDS structural database of crystalline materials. It is a natural extension to the other expenditures and will facilitate phase identification in complex materials. The applicant team endeavors to secure funding for these items on their own personal behalf and that of our entire SEM user community.