Microfluidic devices, with their ability to manipulate and analyze nanoliter volumes of chemicals and other fluids, have attracted great interest across a broad range of research and industrial applications. Corporate and academic laboratories around the world are deeply engaged in developing manufacturing technologies for these devices, hoping to create the same kind of benefits and value that accrued from the miniaturization and large scale integration of electronic devices. The flexibility and programmability of direct laser ablation make it attractive as a fabrication technology, but many other aspects of its performance remain to be understood and characterized. Advanced confocal microscopy, which provides fast, high-resolution, threedimensional visualization and measurement of micrometer scale structure, is ideally suited to this characterization task.

One of the most oft-confronted challenges in materials science, when using scanning electron microscopy, is the limitation of the size of the sample being examined, as well as the analysis application planned. Normally, only small samples in the order of ten to a hundred millimetres in diameter may be investigated. In addition, until now, conventional high-load fatigue testing inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) seemed impossible. Nevertheless, SEM testing is a very valuable method in the fields of material and biological science as well as in quality control and failure analysis. For many technological interesting applications, conventional scanning electron microscopy is not possible because the specimens that need to be investigated cannot be destroyed for the SEM investigations for one of several reasons. It maybe that the specimen must be kept whole so that it can be returned to a production line or perhaps the specimen is an object of historic and/or artistic interest and value.

This contribution is a continuation of a previously published work in Microscopy Today that described the microscopic analysis of magmatic crystal growth by the example of accessory zircon. Zircon does not only represent a remarkable mineral phase concerning its crystallization out of the magmatic melt, but has also other interesting characteristics, one of which is the rather high physical stability of zircon allowing a determination of the mineral—even in high-grade metamorphic rocks. The changes of zircon from low- to high-grade deformation are very noticable and therefore offer an interesting operating field for electron microscopy. Since crystal microscopy and its specific fascination cannot often be found in a microscopy magazine, it is assumed that the article would awake the interest of the readers.

It wasn't too long ago that making the decision where to locate your scanning probe microscope was a simple one put it in the basement where the ambient vibration was minimized. But recently, with nanotechnology applications growing exponentially, scientists and engineers are putting their equipment in a multitude of locations where vibration noise is significantly high. Scanning probe microscopes, interferometers and stylus profilers are being sited in locations that pose a serious challenge to vibration isolation.

Additionally, in an effort to keep their nano-equipment costs as low as possible by cutting out the peripherals, many academics and industries are not adequately providing for vibration isolation on their ultra-sensitive nano-equipment that they are putting into their facilities.

The stereomicroscope was the main tool I once used for metallurgical failure analysis. I have owned a Meiji EMT Greenough-type stereomicroscope since the late 1980's. I had not used transmitted light with the stereomicroscope until about a year ago when I completed a multimode transmitted light illuminator for my Meiji stereomicroscope. I thought this capability would be very useful for introducing the grandkids to the microscopic world, especially with live lake water organisms. My earlier article in Microscopy Today, “Rediscovery of Darkfield Dispersion Staining while Building a Universal Student Microscope,” January/February 2003, demonstrated usefulness of a dual brightfield and darkfield capability in transmitted light for viewing living organisms. I have a ½″ fiber-optic bundle light guide used in the illumination system for my modified Biolam microscope also shown in Microscopy Today, “Effects of Condenser Spherical Aberration on Image Quality,” March 2005.

No longer are biologists content to peer through the oculars of a microscope. Eyes have been replaced by digital cameras. Instead of manual control of microscope stages, filters and light sources, modern microscopes have become fully robotic. Image acquisition and robotic movements require computer control. With such equipment it is possible to automatically record images at multiple wavelengths, carry out time-lapse recordings of living cells using very short exposure times and low light doses, and even to record images at multiple positions (e.g. from a multi-well plate) without operator intervention. Clearly, computer control of light microscope image acquisition is making many new experimental imaging strategies possible in the biological sciences.

Recent advances in in-situ and tomographic methods using (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM) provide the unique possibility of obtaining 3-dimensional (3D) information and in-situ studies of gas-solid chemical reactions on the nanometer scale. In combination with the well-known analytical techniques, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) we can obtain 3D, dynamic, analytical, and structural information down to the atomic level.

The JEOL JEM-2500SE STEM/TEM at UC Davis (CHMS) is equipped with a Schottky field-emission source operated at 200 kV, a post column Gatan imaging filter (863 GIF Tridiem) for EELS and a Thermo System Six for EDXS.

This article discusses AFM-based localized thermal analysis of crosslinked polymer coatings based on a recent breakthrough in nanoscale thermal probe technology. Examples include the monitoring of the softening point of automotive clearcoat systems, as a function of cure time and cure temperature and characterization of degradation and embrittlement of weathered acrylic-polyurethane coatings. Comparison of nano thermal analysis with bulk DSC and MDSC is made and its inherent advantages over DSC in analyzing surfaces is demonstrated.

Specimen preparation techniques for Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging of condoms as reported by Rosenzweig et al revealed a variety of artifacts. The artifacts were classified as ridging, cracking and melting. The purpose of this article is to introduce a simple specimen preparation technique for condoms to be evaluated via SEM without any surface artifacts. This technique involves the use of two chrome washers to sandwich the condom. The sandwiched condom specimen is then subjected to coating before mounting on an aluminium stub. The execution of this technique requires patience and practice so as not to damage the condom. The method may be applied to any similar polymer material.

The Microscopy and Imaging Center at Texas A&M University is a multi-user facility involved with preparation and analysis of many different biological and materials sciences projects. Vapor stabilization and coating is an important part of our specimen preparation methodology for difficult biological and materials, especially polymer, samples. The procedure for all our vapor preparation techniques is done in a simple, economical apparatus set up in a properly functioning fume hood with a flow rate of at least 100 ft/min (Fig. 1). The apparatus is made from a glass petri dish or a glass petri dish for the bottom and an appropriate size beaker for the top. Specimens, mounted on stubs, are placed inside the chamber and the fixative (osmium tetroxide, ruthenium tetroxide or acrolein) is placed in a small container (plastic bottle cap) near the specimens.

Semiconductor manufacturers are increasingly turning to Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEMs) to monitor product yield and process control, analyze defects, and investigate interface layer morphology. To prepare TEM specimens, Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technology is an invaluable tool, yielding a standard milled TEM lamella approximately 15 μm wide, 5 μm deep and ~100 nm thick. Several techniques have been developed to extract these tiny objects from a large wafer and view it in the TEM. These techniques, including ex-situ lift-out, H-bar, and in-situ lift-out, have different advantages and disadvantages, but all require painstaking preparation of one specimen at a time.

Microelectronics and semiconductor wafer manufacturing are among the fastest evolving technology industries today. Wafer sizes typically are 200 mm to 300 mm while critical dimensions are shrinking to 0.09 μm and smaller. As the size of discrete devices continues to be reduced while device density increases, the need for fast, accurate, flexible metrology and inspection tools in the microelectronics industry grows.

Back in the early 1980's, semiconductor inspection was performed primarily by brightfield optical microscopes and with automated detection tools. The adaptation of automated detection tools led to the systematic control of increasingly smaller defects. The smallest detectable defect using these automated tools fell to below the 0.30-micron mark during the 1990's.

Lack of contrast is a common problem encountered when doing TEM of cultured cells, especially of membranes. Using ferrocyanide as a post-fixative can greatly improve membrane fixation and staining. This protocol has been used to study Caco-2 cells grown on PET membranes (the “Caco model”). Caco-2 is a colon cancer cell line that differentiates upon reaching confluency. This allows permeability studies on a cell model, which is reasonably similar to the human intestine.

Basically, the protocol is classical, the only peculiarity consisting in including ferrocyanide in post-fixation. I describe how I prepare and embed the membrane in order to obtain transverse sections of a cell monolayer because I find this is the only way to obtain regular sections with the cells sticking to the membrane (otherwise the ultrathin section splits between the cell and membrane).

Effective life cycle cost (LCC) management for electron microscope (EM) facilities at Purdue University and in other academic institutions is a complex process. Ideally, it should aim at controlling the cost of ownership of EMs while maximizing the output of the technology and utilization of resources. It could be argued that the current focus of the majority of EM facilities has been one that seeks to obtain the latest technology. However the growing sophistication of the equipment causes more indirect costs including labor, maintenance, and ancillary equipment needed to optimize the output of the base equipment. These costs can easily exceed the purchase price of the equipment over the life of the equipment.

The subject of SEM saturation was discussed on the microscopy list server and off list I was aslied why filaments burn out on the side leg Instead of at the tip. I have degrees in electronics technology and in chemistry as well as being a microscopist. So I investigated this subject and performed some experiments to verify my results.

According to Ohm's Law, one would expect that the highest resistance would be at a sharply bent V’ and that is where the filament would be expected to burn out. However, observations of the phenomenon show this is not where the filament burns out.

The first demonstration of an SEM to students is a rewarding experience. Whether it is the beginning of a course in instrumentation or just an illustration of the abilities of an SEM for “prospective users”, whether students have engineering or biological backgrounds, both graduate and undergraduate students are thrilled to see a “real electron microscope”. We thus have an easy task of only having to choose the right specimens to fulfill their anticipation and to present the right amount of information that will be easily absorbed and remembered for a long time.

Insects are the prima donnas of SEM imaging. We usually start our demonstrations with insects (Fig.1). Their multifaceted eyes, terrifying (at proper magnifications) mouths, exoskeletons, jointed limbs, and segmented bodies look so astonishingly alien under the microscope, so remarkably different from their familiar (to the naked eye) appearance, that insects unfailingly get the students thrilled and prepare them to absorb information.

The focused ion beam (FIB) is a relatively novel technique to biomedical electron microscopy as it open up new means for the observations and examinations of a wide range of biomedical and biological materials. The focused ion beam, or FIB tool has been utilized mainly in the fields of material sciences and industry. The (FIB) uses high-energy gallium ions to precisely and accurately section or mill samples. Lately FIB method have been used to prepare biological samples such as yeast cells and virus particles. Yeast cells Schwanniomyces occidentalis S. occidentalis were prepared by vacuum sucking them into cellulose tubing, plunge freezing them in liquid nitrogen, followed by chemical fixation in glutaraldehye and postfixed with osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in a series of ascending alcohol concentration up to absolute alcohol, then freeze dried overnight. In the case of SARS virus, the tissue culture containing virus particles was chemically fixed with glutaraldehyde, dehydrated in ascending order of alcohol concentrations and then freeze dried.

I took over the facility in 1996. We had aging equipment, no assistance, there were huge budget cuts that year and I was told, “There was no money. The only money you're gonna get are your wages. Everything else has to come from user fees.” I had to find funds for service contracts and we had to increase our user base.

I figured I would have to find an assistant because there is no way one can run a TEM, an SEM and confocal and light microscope facilities alone. So I found a grant called “First Job in Science and Technology” which would give me a graduate student for one year, and we had a summer student who had just graduated and was looking for a job before she went on to graduate school. She learned really fast and by February she was excellent, but by May/June we were back into the same boat again.

Backscatter Kikuchi Diffraction (BKD) from crystalline solids has been known since 1928. But only during the last decade, when sufficiently sensitive cameras, fast PCs and high-performance SEMs have been available, has this technique been developed into an invaluable tool for materials' science and geology. BKD is also known as “Backscatter Electron Diffraction” (EBSD) if referred to the commercial trademarked systems OXFORD/HKL “Channel” or EDAX-TSL “OIM”. Crystal Orientation Measurement/ Mapping (COM), without user intervention, is performed in an SEM by digitally scanning the beam spot across the specimen, acquiring and transferring one Backscatter Kikuchi Pattern (BKP) after another into the computer, indexing it, and calculating the crystal orientation of the grain under the beam spot. The sample is typically tilted by 70° towards a phosphor screen for pattern collection. Spatial resolution is in the range of <0.05 μm and accuracy is better than 0.5°.

The McCrone Group Inc. recently announced the completion of a 40,000 sq ft addition to house its new College of Microscopy. Since its founding in 1956, The McCrone Group has grown into a multi-faceted organization and now encompasses three main organizations, McCrone Associates - the analytical service and consulting firm; McCrone Microscopes & Accessories - the microscope and instrument sales group; and, the College of Microscopy - the microscopy learning center. The newly completed addition houses the first and only College of Microscopy and offers the largest array of basic and advanced modern microscopy courses and analytical instrumentation within any single educational facility worldwide. At The McCrone Group, we have more than $15 million worth of microscopes and analytical instrumentation and assembled one of the best scientific/administrative teams in the world.