The Electron Microscopy Service (EMS) is a central facility offering access to scanning (SEM), transmission (TEM) and scanning transmission (STEM) electron microscopes on a pay-per-use basis. Investigators are encouraged to learn how to operate the instrumentation themselves, however, the EMS staff are available to carry out experiments for those investigators who only occasionally require electron microscopy service. The EMS instrumentation is also available to investigators from outside UIC. There are two laboratories, one in E5, Medical Sciences Building, 835 South Wolcott Avenue, and the other in Room 116, Science and Engineering South Building, 845 West Taylor.

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Electron Microscopes use a fine beam of electrons to either image the surface of a specimen (SEM) or, if the specimen is thin enough (less than about 0.1micrometer), to look at the internal structure (TEM/STEM). The interaction of the beam with the specimen also produces X-rays which are characteristic of the specimen and can be collected using an Energy Dispersive (EDX) or Wavelength Dispersive (WDX) X-ray detector to give compositional information. In the TEM or STEM the transmitted beam can also be analysed by Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) to give compositional and electronic state information.

Instrumentation includes four TEMs for materials science applications, two TEMs for life science applications, two SEMs used by both life science and materials science users, an Electron Microprobe and a Raman Spectrometer (vibrational spectroscopy). Equipment for life science specimen preparation includes freeze etching, critical point drying, shadowing/coating and ultramicrotomy and darkroom facilities. Equipment for materials science specimen preparation includes coating, slicing, disc cutting, polishing, ultramicrotomy, electrochemical polishing and ion beam milling.

The TEMs for material science are a JEOL JEM-2010F TEM/STEM with a digital camera, EDX and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS), a JEOL JEM-3010 with a digital camera and EDX, a VG Microscopes HB601UX dedicated STEM with EELS and EDX and a JEOL JEM-100CX II for teaching and training. The TEM for life science is a JEOL JEM-1220 fitted with a digital camera. The JEM-1220 was installed in 1997 and the JEM-2010F and JEM-3010 in 1998.

The two SEMs are both fitted with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) detectors and have digital imaging capabilities. One is a JEOL JSM-6320F high resolution Field Emission SEM, and the other a Hitachi S-3000N Variable Pressure-SEM, which allows non-conducting specimens to be observed without coating with a conductive film in the VP-mode. The JSM-6320F was installed in 1997 and the S-3000N in 2000.

The Electron Microprobe (basically an SEM used to generate X-rays) is a JEOL JXA-733, which has been upgraded with a new data collection system for both EDX and WDX analysis. The Raman Spectrometer is from Renishaw and has a Leica LM optical microscope with a CCD camera.

[ For an expanded overview of our services, a slide show is available for viewing (opens in a separate Web browser window): Start Tour ]