Electron Microscopy Lab

The Electron Microscopy Laboratory features state of the art electron and ion beam instruments, advanced analytical techniques, and electron microscopy expertise.

The EML is a user facility maintained by MST-8 (Materials Science in Radiation and Dynamics Extremes) of the Materials Science & Technology Division. It is located in the Materials Science Laboratory (TA-03, Building 1698, Room C135). The EMLs focus is state of the art electron and ion beam characterization including crystallographic and spectroscopic techniques.

Team Pic — Front row: Ben Morrow, Rod McCabe, Matt Schneider. Back row: Titan HR(S)TEM.

The EML staff maintain and operate the instruments within the facility for a user-base that includes Los Alamos National Laboratory staff, postdoctoral associates, graduate students, and visiting researchers. The EML staff also provide guidance on sample preparation and proper instruments and techniques for given research needs as well as training, supervision, and mentoring on the various instruments and analytical techniques. The EML staff may also be contracted to conduct research for others.

Dedicated to the characterization of materials through imaging, spectroscopic, and crystallographic analyses of material microstructures in support of Basic Energy Science, Laboratory Directed Research and Development, DoD, DOE, Work for Others, nuclear energy, and weapons programs.

The EML has two transmission electron microscopes (TEMs), three scanning electron microscopes (SEMs), and two dual-beam focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopes (FIBs):

ThermoFisher (formerly FEI) Tecnai F30 - analytical scanning TEM (S/TEM), equipped with an x-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (XEDS) as well as a Gatan Imaging Filter (GIF) electron energy-loss (EELS) spectrometer. [MR1]
ThermoFisher Titan 80-300 – monochromated and image aberration-corrected analytical scanning TEM with full XEDS and EELS imaging and analysis, including sub-Å TEM, 1.36 Å STEM, TEM and STEM tomography, and Lorentz imaging modes.
ThermoFisher Inspect F SEM - outfitted with EDAX Octane Elite EDS and Hikari Super EBSD
ThermoFisher Apreo S SEM – Versatile, high-resolution SEM. Nanometer and sub-nanometer resolution for a wide range of sample types. High speed EDAX Velocity Super EBSD/TKD. High speed EDAX Octane Elite EDS.
ThermoFisher Apreo 2 S SEM – Versatile, high-resolution SEM. Nanometer and sub-nanometer resolution for a wide range of sample types. High speed Oxford Symmetry EBSD/TKD. High speed Oxford EDS Hardware EDS.
ThermoFisher Helios 600 Nanolab Ga+ FIB/SEM - used for preparation of TEM and micromechanical test specimens; Equipped with an OmniProbe micromanipulator. Also features an EDAX Hikari EBSD camera and EDS Hardware and software for 2D and 3D chemical and crystallographic imaging.
ThermoFisher Helios G4 Xe pFIB – Xe ion column allows for much faster milling of large areas. Used for large-area micromachining, 3D serial sectioning/mapping, and advanced FIB techniques. Equipped with EDAX Velocity Super EBSD and Ocatane Elite EDS with APEX software, and an Easylift micromanipulator.