Please remember to close the lab doors at the end of your session. These are very expensive instruments and we want to ensure they don’t get damaged.
Building, hallway, or multi-lab issues.
Due to the intermittent power outages, in addition to the planned power outages, ACMAL will be closed for the remainder of this week. The Confocal Imaging Facility (CIF), will be available unless there is another unplanned power outage during the day.
The X-ray facility will be open beginning Friday morning. All other facilities will be opening next week. Just a reminder, the FIB and FESEM annual maintenance will be occurring next week (5/9 – 5/11).
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Due to the scheduled building power outages and in the best interest of the instruments and computer systems the x-ray laboratory will be electrically shut down from Wednesday 5-4-2022 beginning at 3 pm until 7 am Friday 5-6-2022. If you need XRD computing during this time please see me prior to shutdown.
Regards,Ed
—
Dr. Edward A. LaitilaSenior Research Engineer/Scientist II/Adjunct Assistant Professor Michigan Technological University Dept. of MSERoom 628 M&M Building(906) 369-2041
Next week, the HITACHI technician will be on campus to perform an annual preventative maintenance check on the FESEM and FIB. The instruments will be unavailable during that time. If all as planned they will be available for reservation starting on Thursday May 12th.
Also, we will begin our end of semester lab cleaning next Wednesday. Any unlabeled samples will be disposed of.
ACMAL staff have noticed many unlabeled samples being left in the labs and sample prep areas. Our stated policy is “When exiting the lab, be sure that all personal items are removed, any specimens are removed or disposed of..” However, we do allow some samples to be stored for a short period of time. Those samples should be properly labeled with your name, email address, and date. Any unlabeled samples will be thrown away.
Please take a minute to review ACMAL’s cleanliness policy. These are shared labs and it is important that we work together to create a clean and safe environment for all facility users.
2:21 p.m. The instruments are back online.
1:07 p.m. There was a brief power outage and the instruments are down until I can get them back online. Hopefully it will only take an hour or so.
Over the past year, several ACMAL labs have been equipped with new software and cameras for improved remote teaching and research! These new remote capabilities allow for live/recorded demonstrations to be shared with large classes or for research clients and to view live data collection.
Below are descriptions of these instruments and laboratories affected:
FEI 200kV Titan Themis Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM)
The STEM is Michigan Tech’s newest electron microscope addition that has atomic resolution imaging capabilities. The instrument has the following capabilities and modes: conventional TEM mode, scanning TEM mode, electron energy loss spectroscopy, energy filter TEM, high angle annular dark field, ChemiSTEM, Super-X Energy Dispersive X-Ray, and nanometer scale tomography.
New remote capabilities include:
- Zoom screen-share from both the TEM laboratory web camera and instrument control monitors
- Huskycast (Panopto) recording of lab space, TEM lab camera, and instrument control monitors
Learn more about the STEM: ACMAL – FEI 200kV Titan Themis STEM
Contact Elizabeth Miller (eafraki@mtu.edu) for more information.
FEI Philips XL 40 Environmental Scanning Microscope (ESEM)
The ESEM can be used to image a wide range of material types at a microscale including hydrated, contaminated, organic, or inorganic samples. This microscope itself has several modes and features that make it a flexible instrument for any research needs: SE/BSE imaging, thin window EDAX EDS, electron backscatter diffraction, high and low vacuum modes, and hot or cold stage options.
New remote capabilities include:
- New laboratory web camera
- Zoom screen-share abilities from both the microscope control and AzTEC analysis computers
- Remote technical assistance with Raritan DKX4-101 KVM-over-IP
- Remote operation with Raritan DKX4-101 KVM-over-IP
Learn more about the ESEM: ACMAL – FEI Philips XL 40 ESEM
Contact Elizabeth Miller (eafraki@mtu.edu) for more information.
X-Ray Facilities: Scintag XDS2000 Powder Diffractometer and Scintag XDS-2000 PTS
ACMAL’s X-ray facilities (XRF) has instruments capable of performing x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses on both powder and solid samples. Sample data such as present phases, lattice parameter, percent crystallinity, and texture analysis can all be found using MTU’s Scintag XDS2000 Powder Diffractometer and Scintag XDS-2000 PTS XRD instruments. These instruments have the following features to expand the types of samples that can be analyzed: zero background sample holder, custom powder sample holders, custom irregular shaped solid holder, custom liquid holder, ICDD-JCPDS database, and Anton-Paar high temperature stage.
New remote capabilities include:
- New cameras installed in both the instrument lab and sample preparation lab.
- Huskycast (Panopto) recording for both cameras and lab computer monitors.
- Zoom sharing available in both labs and computer monitors.
Learn more about X-ray facilities: ACMAL – X-Ray Facilities
Contact Dr. Edward Laitila (ealaitil@mtu.edu) for more information.
Please note that the ACMAL reservation limit for the Origin+ Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) has been extended from 4 hours to 6 hours during normal business hours. The updated policy can be found on the reservations page of our website.
Trained users may reserve instruments during normal business hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) Monday through Friday. Reservations outside of normal business hours require special permission.
During working hours, do not exceed a four hour reseservation on instruments except the Origin+ Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). AFM reservations should not exceed 6 hours. Longer reservations are available with permission.
If you have any questions please let me know.
The ACMAL Logbook system will be down on the afternoon of Sunday 12/13. After hours users, who will be using the instruments during this time, please email me. I will need to know your time and the index you will be using.
ACMAL Calendars Reminder
Please remember to reserve the room using the equipment calendars. This is not only a courtesy to other users, due to COVID restrictions it is a necessity.