Initial Publication Date: December 10, 2018

Electron Microbeam Laboratory

Dept. of Geological Science, University of Texas - Austin
http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/microbeam

Contact Information

Dr. James L. Maner IV

(512) 475-7197

jlmaner87@utexas.edu

Austin

TEXAS

Instrument Type

109:1 109:2 end 109:1 109:3 end 109:1 109:4 end 109:1 109:7 end 109:9 109:10 end EPMA (electron microprobe), XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscope), ESEM (environmental scanning electron microscope)

JEOL 6490LV SEM, JEOL 8200 EPMA, Bruker D8 Advance XRD, FEI XL30 ESEM

Application:

Mineral structure (atomic) Chemical State Surface analysis Micro-imaging

Typical Use:

Mineral identification via chemical and/or structural analysis,
Semi-quantitative and fully-quantitative chemical analyses at 1um spatial resolution,
Visualize mineral textures at high magnification (30x to 300,000x) using electron and CL imaging,
X-ray element maps of materials to visualize chemical zonation and to identify phases.

Conditions for Use:

Submitted samples will be analyzed on a contract basis (i.e. lab personnel will do the work) Visitors are invited to work in the lab to work with lab personnel Visitors are invited to work in the lab to design and do the work yourself Training Session (short course) is offered

User Fees:

User fees are listed on the lab's webpage (www.jsg.utexas.edu/microbeam)

Instrument Priorities:

Internal (UT-Austin) users are prioritized. External users from academic institutions, government agencies, and industry are welcome to use the facilities.

Remote Use:

No

Sample Preparation:

Samples for XRD must be powdered. Samples for EPMA must be polished and conductive (a carbon coat can be applied in the lab to make your sample conductive). Samples for qualitative/semi-quantitative analyses do not have to be polished or conductive. Samples for structural characterization using the EBSD must be polished.

Standard Collections/Lab Blanks:

The lab has an extensive set of mineral, glass, and metal standards.

Software:

The EPMA uses JEOL and Probe for EPMA software. The XRD uses Bruker EVA and TOPAS software. The ESEM uses AzTec software (Oxford Instruments). The SEM uses JEOL software.

Educational Use:

Class demonstrations are available for undergraduates Class demonstrations are available for K-12 Undergraduate student research projects are invited Graduate student research projects are invited


Support provided by:

The lab is partially funded by the Department of Geological Sciences and the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas - Austin.