A one-day short course presented at Pittcon 2007 in Chicago, IL

Course Description

Scanning and transmission electron microscopes have become the workhorses of the modern microanalysis laboratory. Today's electron microscopes can image samples at magnifications up to 1,000,000X and obtain chemical information from areas as small as one nanometer. Electron microscopy has application in all areas of material science from metals to polymers and pharmaceuticals to semiconductors.

The course is designed to introduce analytical chemists to the broad range of electron microscopy techniques and methods available for materials characterization. Numerous examples of the use of electron microscopy in materials analysis will be presented.

Course Topics

MORNING SESSION

• Fundamentals of scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
• Sample preparation for SEM
• SEM imaging modes
• Introduction to SEM/x-ray microanalysis

AFTERNOON SESSION

• Qualitative and quantitative x-ray microanalysis
• Fundamentals of transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
• Sample preparation for TEM
• TEM imaging modes
• TEM microanalysis techniques

Target Audience

The course is ideal for those analytical chemists whose work involves the analysis of particulate material, coatings, thin films, etc. and who want an overview of the current state of electron microscopy and microanalysis.

Course Instructor

Mark S. Germani, Ph.D. is laboratory director of MicroMaterials Research, Inc. Dr. Germani is an analytical chemist with over twenty-five years experience in electron microscopy. He consults with clients in industry, government and academia and has published many papers on the application of electron microscopy to material science.