Central Facilities

NCMN Central Facility for Electron Microscopy

  The function of the Central Facility for Electron Microscopy is to provide hands-on access to electron microscopes, sample preparation equipment plus data collection and data reduction instrumentation, along with advice, training and research collaboration. The scope of the Facility is materials characterization of the topography, morphology, elemental composition, crystalline microstructure, crystal defects, and atomic arrangements of materials, largely on a scale from 10 micrometers down to the near-atomic level.
  NCMN operates and coordinates Seven Central Facilities that are open to all UNL researchers as well as external (private sector) researchers. The Central Facility for Electron Microscopy is one of these facilities. NCMN ELECTRON MICROSCOPY FACILITY-EM Research Services

Calendar schedules for
FEI NanoSEM, JEOL JEM2010, JEOL JSM840A and FEI Osiris.

(1) FEI Tecnai Osiris (S)TEM

Fully digital 200 kV TEM and STEM system including the HAADF detector X-FEG high brightness Schottky FEG. Super-X windowless EDX detector and EELS system. Biprism for holography and tomographic holder.

(2) FEI Nova NanoSEM450

Field emission SEM with ultra-stable, high current Schottky gun. Advanced optics and detection, including immersion mode, beam deceleration, in-lens TLD-SE and -BSE, DBS and STEM for best selection of the information and image optimization.

(3) JEOL JEM 2010 TEM

200kV, analytical/high-resolution mode, LaB6 filament, single-tilting and double-tilting sample holders. (Oxford EDS system, Gatan dual-view CCD camera, TSL texture analysis system, Digi-TEM beam control system).

(4) JEOL JSM 840A SEM

LaB6 filament, second electron and backscattered electron detectors, Kevex Quantum x-ray microanalyzer, Digital imaging system.

Users of the facility:

The Facility is accessible to all qualified researchers at UNL, at other universities and in industrial and other laboratories on payment of the appropriate charges.

Under normal circumstance, these researchers will be expected to have the requisite background knowledge for electron characterization of materials before some training will be given for a particular instrument.

In some cases, research collaboration is possible for common research interests and/or if researchers need the capabilities of the equipment and experienced examination of samples but are unable to use the facilities for themselves. Limited full service handling and examination of materials is available for these researchers according to availability of the facility specialist.

   VCR Group IncDimplerD 500i       Allied multiprep Grinding           Gatan 691 PIPS       

Specimen preparation devices:

• Emscope SC500 Au sputter coater
• Diamond blade slow speed saw      
• SBT Model 910 lapping and polishing machine      
• Branson 2200 ultrasonic cleaner
• VCR Group Inc. Dimpler D500i
• Gatan Inc. Model 691 PIPS
• Leica stereo microscope ZOOM 2000
• Intek optical microscope

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