Goettingen laboratory for correlative Light and Electron Microscopy
Please note:
To access GoeLEM facilities, please check the individual instrument calendars and send us an inquiry. A proposal is mandatory for every project and must be sent as a digitally signed PDF file. With your signature you also agree to our
E-Mail: goelem@geo.uni-goettingen.de
Phone: +49 (0)551 39 23975
Field Emission Gun Electron Probe Microanalyzer: JEOL JXA-iHP200F
Our EPMA is equipped with a Schottky field emitter (FEG) and achieves a lateral resolution of 2.5 nm in the SE image. The strength of the EPMA is the precise in-situ elemental analysis as well as its unprecedent high spatial resolution of solid phases on the micrometer scale. Application of the FEG technique allows for analysis with a small excitation volume in the sub-micrometer scale dimension for low excitation voltages. Petrochronology, including the determination of geological ages (e.g. dating of accessory phases), element zoning as well as quantitative evaluation of subtle spatial variations in element concentrations (e.g., diffusion profiles) will be the main tasks of EPMA in our petrology group. The EMPA is a classical analytical tool for transdisciplinary geoscientific application and include research projects in sedimentology, geobiology, cosmochemistry, structural geology, archaeometry and experimental mineralogy. In addition, EPMA is also often used by colleagues from other faculties such as Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Archaeology & Restoration, Anthropology etc.
To access GoeLEM facilities, please check the instrument calendar and send us an inquiry. A proposal is mandatory for every project and must be sent as a digitally signed PDF file. With your signature you also agree to our
Contact: goelem@geo.uni-goettingen.de
Technical specifications:
| Accelerating voltage: | 1 – 30 kV |
| Probe current: | 1 pA – 3 μA |
| Element range (WDS): | B – U |
| Other detectors: | SEI, BSE, EDS, CL |
| Analyzable area: | 100 x 100 mm |
| Typical samples: | Thin sections, 1-inch disc mounts |
Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope: Zeiss Gemini 460
To access GoeLEM facilities, please check the instrument calendar and send us an inquiry. A proposal is mandatory for every project and must be sent as a digitally signed PDF file. With your signature you also agree to our
Contact: goelem@geo.uni-goettingen.de
Technical specifications:
| Accelerating voltage: | 0.02 – 30 kV |
| Probe current: | 10 pA – 100 nA |
| Element range (EDS): | Li – U |
| Analyzable area: | 130 x 130 mm |
| Typical samples: | Thin sections, 1-inch disc mounts |
| Detectors: | SEI (Inlens) |
| SEI Everhard-Thornley |
| BSE (6 segments semiconductor) |
| Oxford Instruments Ultim Max EDS detector with 100 mm2 detector area |
| Oxford Instruments Ultim Extreme EDS detector with 100 mm2 detector area, windowless |
| Oxford Instruments Symmetry S3 EBSD detector |
| Delmic SPARC spectral CL system, wavelength dispersive 185 - 870 nm |
Scanning Electron Microscope: JEOL JSM-IT500 InTouchScope™
Our „small“ JSM-IT500 SEM from JEOL is our workhorse for first-order textural investigations and element mapping both on the small and large areas. Installed in April 2021, it uses a Tungsten source which has a slightly lower spatial resolution compared to its siblings with a field emission gun, but still resolves 5 nm at 15 kV. The instrument is equipped with an Ultim Max EDS detector from Oxford Instruments with a large 100 mm2 detector area allowing large area maps due to the elevated count rates. The EDS maps are semiquantitative but can also be later fully quantified using EMPA spot analyses which is routinely done in our lab. The instrument is also able to run under a low vacuum mode allowing the analysis of samples that cannot be coated such as organic material or samples with large topography.
To access GoeLEM facilities, please check the instrument calendar and send us an inquiry. A proposal is mandatory for every project and must be sent as a digitally signed PDF file. With your signature you also agree to our
Contact: goelem@geo.uni-goettingen.de
Technical specifications:
| Accelerating voltage: | 0.3 – 30 kV |
| Probe current: | 1 pA – 1 μA |
| Detectors: | SE, BSE, EDS |
| Energy resolution EDS: | 127eV @ Mn-Kα |
| Maximum sample size: | 200 mm diameter, 80 mm height |
| Analyzable area: | 125 x 100 mm |
| Typical samples: | Thin sections, 1-inch disc mounts |
Polarizing microscope: Olympus BX53M
The polarization microscope from Olympus is typically the first instrument any user of our facility has the pleasure to work with. It is equipped with a fully automated stage that we use to acquire full-size scans of our samples in transmitted and cross-polarized light which are grid referenced and used as base layer for our correlative approach. Using the microscope and its software which has been customized for our lab, the user can identify and record regions of interest or a set of points for analysis at any other instrument in our facility, saving a lot of (costly) instrument time at our electron microscopes later.
Handheld XRF Analyzer: Niton XL3t
Our portable X-ray analyzer (pXRF) can be used in mobile applications in the field. A stationary measuring chamber is also available in the laboratory. Elements starting from atomic number 12 (Mg) can be analyzed. However, low detection limits and good accuracies cannot be achieved for elements with atomic numbers from 12 (Mg) to approx. 20 (Ca). The pXRF can therefore only be used as a semi-quantitative method for major element analyses of rocks. Rather, it serves as a very fast analytical instrument for the pre-selection of samples. The analysis is non-destructive. Certain trace elements (e.g. Sr, Zr, Ba, U) can still be detected in low concentrations of a few tens of µg/g.
We have adapted measurement programs for the following substance groups:
- Rocks, general (no Na)
- Soil samples (trace elements, heavy metals)
- Metal alloys, general (steels, non-ferrous metals)
- Precious metals (jewelry, gold - platinum alloys)
- Plastics (heavy metals, RoHS)
