Engineering Faculty
Document No. 26-02
November 5, 2002
TO: The Engineering
Faculty
FROM: The
Faculty of the School of Materials Engineering
RE: New
Dual-level Course, MSE 581
The faculty of the School of
Materials Engineering has approved the following new course. This action is now submitted to the
Engineering Faculty with a recommendation for approval.
MSE
581 Scanning
Electron Microscopy Skills
Sem. 1, 2, SS.
Class 3, lab 3, (weeks 1-5) cr. 1.
(Available
pass/not-pass
only) Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Components and operation of the
scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Limits to resolution; signals, detectors and imaging modes;
interpretation of results. Laboratory
sessions emphasize the practical operation of the instrument and culminate in a
test of student skills. This course must be completed before undertaking any
SEM research in the School of Materials Engineering .
Reason: This class has been offered for more than 4 years under the designator
MSE 595B. It is fully enrolled each
Fall, Spring and Maymester with enrollment capped at 20 students. There are waiting lists to enroll in this
course. As an essential part of the
curriculum for experimental researchers, it is appropriate to provide a regular
course number for this course.
________________________________
Alexander
H. King
Head,
School of Materials Engineering
MSE 581
Scanning Electron Microscopy Skills
E.P.
Kvam, kvam@ecn.purdue.edu, MSEE 386C, 494-4097
Course Description: An introduction to practical aspects of
the operation of the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Classes will cover the components and
operation of the SEM; limits to resolution; signals, detectors and imaging
modes; interpretation of results.
Laboratory sessions will familiarize the students the practical
operation of the instrument, and culminate in a test of the students’ skills.
Note: this course is required for all
students who intend to use the SEM in their research: it must be passed with a grade of S before
undertaking any research with the SEM.
Prerequisite: Permission of
the instructor
Goals: The course
goal is for the students to become competent,
research-level scanning electron microscopists. They will understand the
functions of the SEM and how it works. They will be competent in basic
operating techniques, and ready to learn more advanced ones as needed.
Objectives:
1.Provide an understanding of
scanning electron microscopy theory and principles. This includes:
SEM gun
construction 2 lectures
Magnetic
lenses 2
lectures
Electron detectors 5 lectures
SEM
imaging parameters 4
lectures
High
resolution microscopy 2
lectures
2.Get acquainted with scanning
electron microscope construction and controls.
3.Provide "hands-on"
training on operation of a research-grade scanning electron microscope. This
includes:
SEM
construction and controls 1 lab
Electron
gun parameters 0.5
lab
Imaging
parameters 1.5
lab
Image
contrast (topographic and atomic number contrasts) 1 lab
High
resolution SEM imaging. 1 lab
Strategies: The course
is taught in three lectures and a three-hour lab for five weeks, followed by a
certification lab.
Assessment: Student
progress is assessed by their ability to operate the SEM with increasing
independence and decreasing instructor intervention, as the labs progress.
Students add to their own "user manual" throughout the course.
Evaluation: Students
will be evaluated based on writing four lab reports, and their ability to pass a certification test on
operation of the SEM. The acquired knowledge will qualify students for use of
other scanning microscope with minimum training. Upon completion of the course
and passing the certification test, students will be certified as "SEM
Users" which will give them access to the microscope.
Feedback: Feedback is
provided by anonymous written evaluation by students at the conclusion of the course.
Textbook:
"Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis", 2nd ed.,
J. I. Goldstein, D. E. Newbury, P.
Echlin, D. C. Joy, A. D. Romig, Jr., C.
E. Lyman, C. Fiori and E. Lifshin, (Plenum Press, 1992).
