Scanning Electron Microscopy & EDS Microanalysis

This equipment can quickly provide information on the morphology and elemental composition of a solid object. Its great ease of use, flexibility for viewing highly variable extension fields on massive samples, and the extent of its depth of field make SEM a vital tool in the exploration of the microscopic world.
It consists of two coupled devices:

 The SEM : an electron microscopy technique based on the principle of electron-matter interactions, capable of producing high resolution images of the surface of a sample.

 The EDS microanalysis : the EDS detector receives photons emitted by the material due to electronic excitation, and sorts them according to their energy. Each energy value being characteristic of the energy level of a chemical element, it is possible to identify the elements contained in the material.

This technique provides information that is simultaneously morphological (images) and chemical (elemental composition) of a sample.

Apparatus :

HITACHI S3000N, S3400N, SU3500 Variable Pressure Scanning Electronic Microscope :
 
 Magnification up to x100,000
 Variable pressure -> No metallization on non-conductive samples
 Peltier plate: freezing of organic samples at -30 ° C for non-destructive observation
 Two image types: topographic contrast (SE mode)
 chemical contrast (BSE mode)

EDX detector UltraDry, Thermo Electron :

 Si Crystal, NORVAR window
 Detection from beryllium
 Energy resolution: 132 eV on the K ray (Mn)
 Spatial resolution: 1 µm3