About the Lab
The Environmental Mineralogy Imaging Lab offers access to imaging and analytical characterization
technologies to 黑洞社区 faculty, staff, and student researchers. This facility is also
available to researchers from other universities, foundations, and industry.
In addition to instrument access, EMI personnel offer advice, hands-on training, education,
and research collaboration. Our goal is to promote, enable, and encourage cutting-edge
education and research using the lab鈥檚 instrumentation.
Instrumentation
The EMI lab contains a Thermo Scientific Phenom Pharos desktop Scanning Electron Microscope
(SEM) with a Field Emission Gun (FEG). The instrument is equipped with BSE, SE, and
EDS detectors allowing for morphological, compositional, and chemical analysis of
materials. This SEM has a maximum magnification of 1,000,000x with a resolution of
2.5 nm (SE), and can operate in a variety of accelerating voltages and vacuum modes.
Analytical capabilities include elemental mapping & line scanning as well as 3-D roughness
reconstruction.
- Image of Goethite nanoparticles synthesized by Derby High School students
The Rigaku Mini Flex II X-ray diffractometer can determine: crystalline phase identification,
percent crystallinity, crystallite size, and lattice parameter refinement. For data
analysis the MDI Jade software is interfaced with databases from the International
Centre for Diffraction Data.
The EMI lab is primarily equipped for preparation of geologic materials such as bulk
rock, sediment, soil and clay samples, with tools including a puck mill, centrifuge,
ultrasonic probe, desiccators, drying oven, heating water bath, and vacuum filtration.
Additionally, the lab has a Cressington 108 Sputter coater with a Au target for non-conductive
SEM samples.
Schedule and instrument scheduling
The regular hours of the EMI will be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Instrument scheduling: Qualified users that have undergone training and demonstrated proficiency will be
allowed unsupervised use of EMI equipment. All other use will be supervised by EMI
personnel.
Rates
Prices effective April 1st 2021 and are subject to change. Please contact personnel
with any questions or concerns.
All users must supply all disposable materials needed for their work; we endeavor
to keep common supplies at-hand for use.
Charges: Users are charged for the SEM at an hourly rate. This rate includes use of any detectors
(BSE, SE, EDS) and software (elemental mapping, 3-D roughness) required by the user.
Users of the XRD are charged on a per-scan basis and this charge includes use of the
Jade software and ICDD database.
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Charges for use
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Internal
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External
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Scanning Electron Microscopy
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Phenom Pharos
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$46.00/hr
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$75.00/hr
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X-Ray Diffractometer
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Mini Flex II
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$21.00/scan
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$35.00/scan
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What are the reasons to justify these costs?
- Field Emission Gun and vacuum system 鈥� The FEG source for the SEM has a lifespan of ~10,000 hours while the vacuum system
requires periodic pump maintenance. The annual service contract for this maintenance
is approximately $16,000.
- X-ray tube 鈥� The Cu X-ray source in the XRD degrades over time. The expected lifetime is around
5 years and the cost of replacement tubes is approximately $4,000.
- Materials and supplies 鈥� Copper tape, aluminum stubs, carbon tape, weigh boats, methanol, safety equipment
(gloves, eye protection), replacement glassware, computers and paper, sputter coater
targets etc. that are utilized by most lab users must be replaced.
- Database renewal 鈥� The ICDD PDF-2 Scholar package, providing the latest database access, support, and updates
through spring of 2024. This subscription requires renewal at a cost of approximately
$6,000.
