A New Core Facility For Electron And Ion Microscopy At The University Of Arizona

Abstract

Materials research and student training at large "super-land-grant" universities like the University of Arizona (UA) require routine access to state-of-the-art instrumentation that combines 2D-and 3D-analysis of composition and structure from cm to atomic length scales. Information on the relationship between structure and property is critical to establish the feedback loop between materials characterization, growth, and optimization. The diverse materials-research programs at UA span the sciences and engineering and such programs require a range of spatially resolved analytical tools. Here we describe a core facility for electron and ion microscopy at UA, newly constructed to support these diverse research programs, and provide students, postdocs, and faculty access to state-of-the-art instrumentation and training.The facility is located in the sub-basement of the Gerard P. Kuiper building for Space Sciences, which was constructed in 1966 with funds provided by NASA. Located approximately 30 ft. below ground and slab-on-grade, the basement was renovated and repurposed to house electron and ion microscopes. The Kuiper Core Imaging Facility serves the entire UA community, including regional private-and publicsector users. It is centrally supported by the UA office of Research, Discovery, and Innovation (RDI), as part of an expanding Core Facility program. Professional scientists staff the facility, manage daily operations, train users, and a faculty user committee provides oversight and scientific direction.The facility consists of parallel instrument bays and includes space for sample preparation, meeting and workshops, and offices for laboratory scientists and visitors (Fig. 1a). A utility corridor was constructed behind several labs to house service equipment for the instruments.The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) suite currently houses two microscopes with room for a third instrument. The Hitachi S-4800 cold-field emission gun (cold FEG) can operate between 0.5 keV and 30 keV. It is equipped with a Thermo-Noran Si(Li) energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) running Noran SystemSix (NSS) software. The Hitachi S-3400 is a W thermal emitter with a variable-pressure chamber and Renishaw InVia Raman system with the Structural and Chemical Analyser (SCA) interface and Reflex microscope. It is equipped with secondary-electron and backscattered-electron detectors and a Thermo-Noran SDD EDS system operating NSS software. The SEM suite also has laboratory benchtop space for sample-preparation and includes a chemical fume hood. See Fig. 1b-d.