Engineering Faculty
Document No. 27-02
November 5, 2002
TO: The Engineering
Faculty
FROM: The
Faculty of the School of Materials Engineering
RE: New
Dual-level Course, MSE 582
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
582 Transmission
Electron Microscopy Skills
Sem.1, 2.
Class 3, lab 3, (weeks 6-10) cr. 1.
(Available pass/not-pass only)
Prerequisites:
consent of instructor.
Principal components and operation
of the transmission electron microscope (TEM).
Limits to resolution; imaging and diffraction modes; interpretation of
results. Laboratory sessions will
emphasize the practical operation of the instrument and culminate in a test of
student skills. This course must be completed before undertaking any TEM
research in the School of Materials Engineering.
Reason: This class has been offered for more than 4 years under the designator
MSE 595T. It is fully enrolled each Fall
and Spring 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 582
Transmission 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 transmission electron microscope (TEM). Classes will cover the principal components
and operation of the TEM; limits to resolution; imaging and diffraction 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 TEM in their research: it must be passed with a grade of S before
undertaking any research with the TEM.
Prerequisite: Permission of
the instructor
Goals: The course
goal is for the students to become competent, research-level transmission
electron microscopists. They will understand the functions of the TEM 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
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
theory and principles. This includes:
Electro-optics of the TEM (lenses, lens aberrations) 2 lectures
Image formation and imaging modes in TEM 2 lectures
Diffraction theory and Diffraction patterns 3 lectures
Dark and
bright field imaging 1
lecture
Image interpretation 3
lectures
High
resolution microscopy and Lattice imaging 3
lectures
TEM Sample
preparation 1
lecture
2.Provide "hands-on"
training on operation of a research-grade transmission electron microscope.
This includes:
Construction of TEMs 1
lab
Basic TEM
alignment 2
labs
TEM
imaging 1
lab
High
resolution and lattice image microscopy 1 lab
Strategies: The course
is taught in three lectures and a weekly three-hour lab, for five weeks
followed by a certification lab.
Assessment: Student
progress is assessed by their ability to operate the TEM 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 a lab report in the form of a user manual,
and their ability to pass a
certification test on operation of the TEM. The acquired knowledge will qualify
students for use of other transmission microscopes with minimum training. Upon
completion of the course and passing the certification test, students will be
certified as "TEM 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:
"Transmission Electron Microscopy", 1st ed., D. Williams and C. B.
Carter, (Plenum Press, 1996).
