JEOL USA is holding a series of electron microscopy seminars and you are invited to our next event.

Please join JEOL USA, Inc., Oxford Instruments, and the NCF (Nanomaterials Characterization Facility at the University of Colorado) for a special symposium, "New Frontiers in Electron Microscopy" to be held at the Discovery Learning Center at the University of Colorado on October 20th.

New Frontiers in Electron Microscopy

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 
University of Colorado
Discovery Learning Center, Room 1B70
Boulder, Colorado

9:30-10:00 a.m.   Welcome and Registration
Juice and Coffee will be available
 
10:00-10:30 a.m.  Recent Advances in Low kV Backscatter Imaging and Low kV Microanalysis
Mr. Vernon Robertson, JEOL USA, Inc.
Advances in electron optics and spectrometers offer dramatic improvements in overcoming the fundamental limitations of achieving good low kv imaging and microanalysis.  Advances in hardware and software will be discussed along with applications related examples.
 
10:30-11:00 a.m.  3D Volume Averaging of Isolated Cytoskeletons of Giardia Intestinalis
Dr. Cindi Schwartz,University of Colorado
Cryo-tomography coupled with 3D volume averaging reveals new structures associated with the attachment organ of Giardia, the ventral disc. These microtubule-associated structures are novel and may become drug targets against Giardia infection.
 
11:00-11:15 a.m.  Coffee Break
 
11:15-11:45 a.m.  Large Area, High Resolution Silicon Drift Detectors:  
Revolutionizing EDS Performance and Capability 
Mr. Scott Sitzman,Oxford Instruments
The recent introduction of very large active area silicon drift detectors (SDDs) is significantly expanding the capability and applicability of the traditional EDS technique.  SDDs inherently allow high count rates, greatly reducing the time necessary to collect conventional EDS maps and enhancing the quality of data for rich, high signal-to-noise datasets.  At the same time, new technology allows large area detectors, including those with 80mm2 active areas, to achieve resolutions as high as 123 eV @ Mn Ka, as well as yield excellent performance on light elements.  Thus, compromising resolution and other aspects of performance is no longer necessary when working with very large area detectors, making these liquid nitrogen-free detectors now the design of choice for all applications.  

11:45-12:15 p.m.  The World through Rose Colored Lenses
Dr. Jaap Brink JEOL USA
Few electron optical inventions have revolutionized the TEM/STEM as profoundly as the Cs corrector.  Atomic level mapping, resolution better than 50 picometers...we can now look an atom in the eye, ask it a question, and get a straight answer. The field of electron microscopy never looked more promising. Please join our symposium for a concise review of the future.
 
12:15-1:00 p.m. Lunch Will Be Provided
 
1:00-1:30 p.m.   Cross Correlative STEM-HAADF and Atom Probe Tomography
Dr. Brian Gorman, The Colorado School of Mines
The combination of Z-contrast STEM and atom probe tomography allows for characterization of materials at near atomic scale chemical and spatial resolution.  This talk will illustrate recent developments in techniques and  hardware for cross-correlative analysis on a single specimen array.  Applications to radiation tolerance in nanostructured alloys will be demonstrated.
 
1:30-2:00 p.m.  Sample Preparation Using CP Polisher/Cross Sectioning of Cryomilled Nanostructures
Mr. Vern Robertson, JEOL USA 
Using an argon ion beam, a unique cross section polishing technique prepares soft, hard, and composite materials with virtually no sample damage, smearing, or deformation. This includes difficult-to-polish soft materials such as copper, aluminum, gold, solder, paper products, and polymers, as well as difficult-to-cut materials such as ceramic and glass. We will present this new specimen preparation method and examples of results of a variety of materials.
  
2:00-2:30 p.m.  Beyond Imaging and Chemistry:  
Characterizing the Microstructure of Materials with EBSD
Mr. Scott Sitzman, Oxford Instruments
Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD) involves the automated collection and analysis of these patterns, and patterns from surrounding areas of the sample, for a huge variety of modes of characterization, including:  Crystallographic phase identification, crystallographic orientation determination, determination of preferred orientation, grain size analysis, grain shape analysis, grain boundary characterization, analysis of strain, crystallographically determined phase area % and distribution, and orientation relationship determinations between different phases.  Modern EBSD systems allow automated pattern collection and indexing rates exceeding 670 per second, so EBSD analysis of relatively large areas may be collected in greatly reduced times, and high sensitivity detectors enable high spatial resolution analysis of nanocrystalline materials and structures.  EBSD is rapidly becoming a standard analytical accessory on the modern SEM.  
 
2:30 p.m. Tour of the NCF at The University of Colorado
 
 RSVP is required to Chris Rood by October 9th.  Space is limited.  
Contact 
Chris Rood, crood@jeol.com, 760-476-1980.

The NCF is happy to offer a special 3 hour course for X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). This course is designed to familiarize researchers with the fundamentals of EDS. The course will be held Monday, August 31, 2009, from 9 am to 12 am, in DLC1B50. To register for the course go to the EDS registration on the NCF website: http://ncf.colorado.edu/?p=eds. Please note that "speedtype" is for internal CU registration only. Please email ncf.colorado.edu if you wish to use MasterCard or VISA as a payment option. Register as soon as possible to assure your place in the course. The featured lecturer will be Dr. Roy Geiss of NIST, who for many years has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Analhttp://www.cars.gov/faqytical Electron Microscopy including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), EDS and a wide range of other analysis techniques. He has also been involved with research and commercial development of many of these analysis techniques. He has published many papers on analytical technique development as well as papers on the use of these techniques in the study of materials properties. He has been on the staff at NIST since 2002. In addition he was an IBM research staff member for 19 years, worked in failure analysis at Maxtor Corporation, and taught at the University of Virginia and San Jose State University. The course will provide an overview of the EDS technique, covering both theory and instrumentation. The program includes a lecture, computer simulations and some limited hands-on experience with EDS analysis. Registration Fees: CU students and Faculty $100, Industry users $200 Topics: Introduction to EDS X-Ray Signal Generation EDS Instrumentation & Signal Detection, Silicon Drift Detectors Important EDS Parameters & Detector Geometry Spectrum Interpretation & Artifacts Peak ID/Qualitative Analysis Quantitative X-Ray Analysis X-ray Mapping Techniques and Procedures Thin Films and Particle Analysis Demonstration of DTSA-II, Desktop Spectrum Analyzer, for the PC Summary and Questions

NCF users,

The NCF is happy to offer a special 3 hour course for X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). This course is designed to familiarize researchers with the fundamentals of EDS. The course will be held Monday, August 31, 2009, from 9 am to 12 am, in DLC1B50. To register for the course go to the EDS registration on the NCF website: http://ncf.colorado.edu/?p=eds. Please note that "speedtype" is for internal CU registration only. Please email ncf.colorado.edu if you wish to use MasterCard or VISA as a payment option. Register as soon as possible to assure your place in the course.

The featured lecturer will be Dr. Roy Geiss of NIST, who for many years has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Analhttp://www.cars.gov/faqytical Electron Microscopy including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), EDS and a wide range of other analysis techniques. He has also been involved with research and commercial development of many of these analysis techniques. He has published many papers on analytical technique development as well as papers on the use of these techniques in the study of materials properties. He has been on the staff at NIST since 2002. In addition he was an IBM research staff member for 19 years, worked in failure analysis at Maxtor Corporation, and taught at the University of Virginia and San Jose State University.

The course will provide an overview of the EDS technique, covering both theory and instrumentation. The program includes a lecture, computer simulations and some limited hands-on experience with EDS analysis. Registration Fees: CU students and Faculty $100, Industry users $200

Congratulations to Evan Thomas (LVSEM), Joe Brown (FIB), and Idalis Villanueva (CLSM) as the winners of the Spring 2009 photo contest. Entries are being accepted for Summer 2009 starting July 1st!!

The NCF now stocks some supplies. Please see our stockroom supply list located on the pricing page within the Instruments menu. You can order supplies by sending email to ncf@colorado.edu.

The NCF has invited John Konopka of Thermo Fisher Scientific to talk about the Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) instrumentation installed on our FESEM and soon to be upgraded on our LVSEM. This would be a good opportunity to have a better understanding of Noran EDS and the control software. The presentation is free and will be about an hour with some time for questions.

New and Advanced Features for Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy in the NCF
Wednesday, April 8th, 9:00 am DLC Bechtel Collaboratory
John Konopka X-ray Microanalysis Application Scientist Microanalysis Products, Thermo Fisher Scientific 5225 Verona Road, Madison, WI 53711

The Thermo NSS EDS system introduces several new ways of using x-ray emission data compared to previous generations of Thermo analyzers. These include Spectral Imaging which acquires and stores an array of spectra from a grid of points on a sample, post processing of Spectral Imaging maps, principle component analysis which automatically finds patterns within a Spectral Imaging map, recalculation and re-extraction of x-ray information from all NSS data types and the site license which makes both software and data portable. This talk will cover both why and how to use these new features in NSS system.

Congratulations to Evan Thomas (LVSEM) and Aric Sanders (FIB) as the winners of the Fall 2008 photo contest. Entries are being accepted for Spring 2009!

TALK ANNOUNCEMENT Nanoscale Assembly Using Focused Ion Beams and Gallium Nitride Nanowires Delivered By: Aric Sanders National Institute of Standards and Technology Optoelectronics 815.04 Thursday, December 11, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. DLC Bechtel Collaboratory Abstract: Gallium Nitride nanowires are emerging as critical components of nanoscale optical, electrical and mechanical systems. In order to realize the potential of these nanoscale building blocks, it is important to be able to manipulate single nanowires. The ability to manipulate single nanowires opens a host of analytic and device possibilities. In particular, the ability to select a single wire from a growth substrate and place it in a particular orientation on a non-native substrate allows us to create single nanowire oscillators and samples suitable for Local-Electrode Atom-Probe (LEAP) tomography. In addition, the ability to do nanoscale selective area etching with a focused ion beam has allowed us to remove shell materials from nanowire core-shell devices. These devices are strong candidates for the next generation of light emitting devices. The fabrication of these devices using a focused ion beam (FIB) and other capabilities of the user facility at the Nanomaterials Characterization Facility (NCF) at CU-Boulder will be discussed.

Dual Beam Focused Ion Beam Training

We would like to open the next FIB training session to interested users. The training will be January 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th , 2009. We will have space for only six new users. We do require that the new user be considered an SEM expert and has been using an SEM for at least one year. Please respond to NCF@colorado.edu if you are interested.

Below is information that was sent out earlier that describes the FIB management. We at the NCF have been working to find a way to provide FIB services in the most efficient and productive way for all who are interested in FIB. This instrument is very complicated and unlike the SEMs can be damaged easily. Therefore, this instrument will be managed differently than the other instruments in the NCF.

We have decided to provide two levels of FIB services. The first is for researchers to fill out a request for service which will briefly describe their needs. The NCF will then work with the researcher to schedule time and understand the project requirements. One of the NCF staff will then operate the instrument with the researcher in attendance.

The second is for researcher PIs to identify one researcher in their group to be fully trained on the FIB and operate the instrument for their group. Your selected researcher will be allowed independent use of the FIB.

We have an application engineer from FEI who is coming to give the training on the FIB. We are looking for at most six people who could take the training and be expert users for people in their group. If you believe your group will have a great need for the FIB of at least four hours per week and are willing to help others who need FIB services we invite you to apply for one of these positions. This requires a large commitment of time on both the user’s part as well as the NCF. The NCF will be spending additional time to fully train and qualify potential users in addition to this four day workshop.

Reading an introductory text on focused ion beam is required before the training. This is a four day training, two days working directly with the FEI engineer and then two days working with NCF staff. Additional time will be provided by the NCF staff as appropriate. The cost for the training is $1,800.

You may also find information about the NCF Instruments to include in your proposals at http://ncf.colorado.edu/?p=information&sub=researchers&subsub=proposal.

Please email ncf@colorado.edu with the contact information for the individual that you'd like to have trained for independent use on the FIB.

The NCF has recently added another scanning electron microscope to its collection of analytical instruments. The PSEM is a thermionic emission SEM that can provide magnification up to 50kx. It is expected to supplement the NCF’s microscopy capabilities during periods of heavy use. User fees for the PSEM will be covered by the general admission fee into the sample preparation room. Training for the PSEM will be offered biweekly (Monday at 1:30 pm) starting on October 20. LVSEM training is required prior to the PSEM training. Interested users should contact NCF staff to sign up for a PSEM training session.

Service requests for the FIB are now being accepted

The Nanomaterials Characterization Facility (NCF) of the University of Colorado, Boulder, is proud to announce the installation of a dual beam focused ion beam (FIB) instrument. This state of the art nanotechnology tool incorporates both an electron beam and a Gallium ion beam allowing it to be used for a wide variety of applications in nano- as well as micro-scale technology. Fabrication and manipulation of nanometer sized structures has been very difficult, but with the introduction of the FIB we can now explore structural and molecular details on a scale finer than ever before.

Please see the instrument description on the FIB for further information.
Requests for service are available to registered users.

Nanofabrication in the Dual Beam Focused Ion Beam (FIB) Gurpreet Singh Postdoctoral Associate Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Mechanical Engineering conference room (ECME 137A&B) Tuesday, August 26th, 12 pm

In this presentation I will share my experiences with the FIB for fabrication and characterization of structures involving nanotubes, cross-sectional imaging of biological materials and preparation of TEM specimen.

The FEI Helios 600 NanoLab is a dual-beam workstation that combines a high-resolution SEM and a focused ion beam. It provides the ability to probe structure-property relationships and to manipulate materials and fabricate structures at the nanoscale. It can used to dissect or deposit material at a micro- to nano-meter size scale. The instrument is capable of nanoscale lithography, deposition, and tomography, and it has a manipulator for precisely probing, straining, picking up and placing nanometer sized objects cut from or deposited on larger samples. The FIB at Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory, Virginia Tech is equipped with an integrated Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and Electron Backscatter Diffration (EBSD) package for gathering chemical, spatial orientation, and strain state information. Samples can be studied and handled from room temperature down to cryogenic temperatures.

NCF users,

The short course on Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) was very successful. We had 30 participants. The number of participants demonstrates that it was very useful. We plan to offer the course again in a few months. In the mean time, we would like to arrange more of these single day courses to cover other areas of microscopy and instrumentation in the NCF. Would you take a few moments and send to NCF@colorado.edu suggestions for topics you would be interested in.

Thank you,
The NCF staff

NCF users, From the previous email, we have had enough people express interest the EDS course that we will offer it on Thursday, July 10, 2008, from 9 am to 12 am, in DLC1B50. To register for the course go to the EDS registration on the NCF website: http://ncf.colorado.edu/?p=eds. Please note that the speedtype if for internal CU registrations only. You may also use MasterCard/VISA as a payment option. Registration ends 7/9/08 so register as soon as possible to assure your place in the course. ----------------------------------------------- The NCF is happy to offer a special 3 hour course for EDS. We would like to know how many are interested it taking the course before we finalize everything. If you are interested, would you please reply to this email? Tell us if you are a CU user or outside user and any comments/concerns on the course as listed below. Workshop on X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectometry (EDS) with the NCF Noran/Thermo system 6 equipment Thursday, July 10, 2008, 9 am - 12 am DLC 1B50 This course is designed to familiarize researchers with the fundamentals of X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry and its implementation with CU’s systems. The featured lecturer will be Dr. Roy Geiss of NIST, who for many years has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Analytical Electron Microscopy including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), EDS and a wide range of other analysis techniques. He has also been involved with research and commercial development of many of these analysis techniques. He has published many papers on analytical technique development as well as papers on the use of these techniques in the study of materials properties. He has been on the staff at NIST for the last 7 Years, an IBM research staff member for 19 years, worked in failure analysis at Maxtor Corporation and taught at the University of Virginia and San Jose State University. The workshop will provide an overview of the EDS technique, covering both theory and instrumentation issues. The program includes a lecture, computer simulations and some limited hands-on experience with EDS analysis. Registration Fees: CU students and Faculty $100, Industry users $200 * Introduction to EDS * X-Ray Signal Generation * EDS Instrumentation & Signal Detection * Important EDS Parameters & Detector Geometry * Spectrum Interpretation & Artifacts * Peak ID/Qualitative Analysis * Quantitative X-Ray Analysis * Introduction to Imaging * X-ray Mapping Techniques and Procedures * Thin Films and Particle Analysis * Summary and Questions

Please remember to scan your USB drives before using them on NCF instruments.

SEM users, It is the end of another semester, so it is time to clean up the computers on the SEMs. Please get copies of all your images and EDS data. We will be erasing the disks at the end of the week, Friday, June 6th. We also have been having some problems with viruses. You should check out any storage device you used on these systems as they might also be infected. We are going to completely reformat the drives and then try and set up the computers with greater security. Again, get copies of any data that you want by the end of this week. The NCF staff