Equipment
Scanning electron microscope
The scanning electron microscope - SEM - is a microscope working with electrons, in which a bundled electron beam scans a sample surface under vacuum. The electrons released from the sample in the process are picked up by detectors and, among other things, converted into a grayscale image. Due to the much shorter wavelength of the electron beam compared to daylight, the resolution is about 1000 times higher and distances of up to 0.1 nanometers can be imaged. Furthermore, a SEM image is characterized by a high depth of focus and rich contrast.
We have access to a scanning electron microscope, Zeiss Supra 55, which allows a fast element analysis of the material to be examined, among other things by an additional EDX detector. For special applications samples can be prepared with a "JEOL Cross Section Polisher".
Cathodoluminescence
Cathodoluminescence is the excitation of valence electrons of an atom by an electron beam generated by a cathode. When returning to the ground state, the free energy is also released in the form of photons. In cathodoluminescence, a light microscope is combined with an electron beam. The luminescence produced can be observed and analysed under the microscope.
The hot cathode luminescence microscope available here is a device from the company "Lumic-Spezialmikroskope" with the designation "HC1-LM".
X-ray diffraction analysis
X-ray diffractometric analysis - XRD - enables the quantitative and qualitative phase analysis of materials such as rocks, metals, ceramics, cements, etc. by means of X-ray diffraction.
The Geological Institute operates a "Bruker D2 Phaser". Thanks to a multi-sample changer it is possible to analyse several samples one after the other. The required sample flour can be produced with a "Retsch XRD-Mill Mc Crone".