Upgrades for ACMAL’s Environmental Scanning Microscope

ESEM column and sample chamber.

The FEI Philips XL 40 Environmental Scanning Microscope (ESEM) is a large chamber scanning electron microscope. It is operated by a Michigan Tech shared facility, the Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory (ACMAL). ACMAL was awarded a Shared Facility Grant from the Associate Vice President of Research Development to upgrade the ESEM electronics and software system. The upgrade is expected to offset future repair costs and minimize instrument downtime.

If you have not considered the ESEM for your research, this instrument is capable of operating in high vacuum mode for conventional scanning electron microscopy.

The ESEM supports large area montage imaging and elemental mapping (up to a few square centimeters), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS)-based phase analysis, chemical contrast imaging and EDS-based particle analysis, as well as crystallographic phase mapping, texture analysis and grain size orientation distribution by electron backscatter diffraction.

Contact ACMAL Director Elizabeth Miller with questions. You may request instrument training, sample preparation or sample analysis services. Remote training and collaboration are available. Request a tour for yourself and your team. We can help you select an instrument and find expertise in developing process plans for your research.

Current users are reminded to cite ACMAL in all publications arising from research using these instruments. Help us to build a community of electron microscopists.

Electron Crystallography in the TEM Seminar April 13, 2023

Erico Freitas operating the STEM.

Erico Freitas

Research Scientist, Materials Science and Engineering
Michigan Technological University

Electron Crystallography in the TEM: Using CBED to Determine Bravais Lattice, Point and Space Group, Lattice Parameters Refinement

Materials Science and Engineering Seminar

Thursday, April 13, 2023, 1 – 2 p.m.

Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M) , 610