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The M&P Lab is equipped with a sophisticated state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope (SEM), and an electron microprobe. The SEM, located in the Schenectady, NY facility, is capable of operating in conventional high vacuum or variable pressure vacuum, which permits examination of non-metallic and non-conductive materials without coating or sample preparation. Maximum sample dimension is greater than 250 mm (10 inches) with maximum mass of 4.5 kg (10 pounds). The SEM is equipped with light element EDS (energy-dispersive spectrometry) to obtain qualitative information about the chemical characteristics of a sample, and WDS (wavelength dispersive spectrometry) to obtain positive identification of trace or overlapping elemental X-ray lines and precise quantitative analysis.
The electron microprobe is a scanning electron microscope that has been optimized for flexibility and accuracy in elemental analysis. The M&P Lab has been providing electron microprobe analysis for nearly 40 years, and our latest microprobe, located in the Greenville, SC facility, was recently upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware and software. A few of the notable features of the system are:
- It is one of the world’s fastest electron microprobes, with seven wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometers (WDS) and a silicon drift detector energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SDD-EDS).
- It produces ultra-fast color X-ray element maps with Bruker Quantax software capable of incorporating signals from both EDS and WDS detectors.
- It has the highest take-off angle of any commercial electron microprobe for the greatest accuracy and sensitivity.
- It has the capability to determine nearly the entire periodic table of elements, from boron to uranium on a microscopic scale.
- High-quality SEM images are produced with CamScan CS3000 digital imaging.
Our microprobe analysis has been used to support research, development, manufacturing, maintenance, and repair in the following areas: power generation, automotive, aircraft, nuclear, electrical, medical devices, coatings, welds, brazes, minerals and the identification of unknown materials. |
