Scanning Electron Microscopy and Its Practical Applications (3)

UM-StL Physics 307 - Winter '99

Physics 307, 381, 400, or 490: 3 Credit Hours of Basics, Readings, Special Topics, or Research on...
Scanning Electron Microscopy & Its Practical Applications - Winter Semester 1999

Proposed boilerplate for Physics 307: Scanning Electron Microscopy (3)
Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor. A lecture/laboratory study of scientific research techniques using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Course includes electron gun/lens optics, beam-specimen interactions, image formation, associated x-ray techniques, and analysis of images. Two hours lecture and two hours laboratory per week.

This course is geared towards training students to effectively use an SEM and its associated X-ray analytical equipment. The theory part will cover the basic physics of Scanning Electron Microscopy, so that information obtainable from specimens is understood. The lab part deals with operation of such instruments, including the two turbo-pumped Cambridge SEM's in our lab. This course is prerequisite for a course on Transmission Electron Microscopy, to follow.

Cambridge 240 SEMspecimen chamber with secondary and x-ray detectorsLow-voltage electron fish-eye image of SEM specimen chambercleaved edge of an integrated circuit

To take the course, apply to enroll by e-mail or in person with the course instructors. Slots are still open for this semester. Even after all slots in the course are filled, an e-mail application will let us know that you are interested. Credit in Physics reading, special topics or research courses, assuming that your participation meets the appropriate requirements, will then be available by registration with the University after the fact, e.g. for the corresponding course in summer or spring 1998. The possibility for similar credit through the Chemistry or Biology department is under discussion as well.

New, Answer What?, Local Pages, External Links, More Books, OverView, HomeWork,
What's New?
  • Field-Width vs. Working-Distance for various S240 Mag-Settings at Low and High kV.
  • A plot to infer Working-Distance from Focus-Setting on our S240.
  • Updated Winter 1999 Course Announcement.
  • This course is on-deck for Winter Semester 1999, along with Biology 392 (Topics in Electron Microscopy) which will be using our transmission and scanning electron scopes!
  • Our TEMs include a Hitachi H600w/STEM & Philips 430STw/EDS-EELS, both under service contract (9/98).
  • Our SEMs include a Cambridge S250 & S240w/EDS, both up and running (6/98).
  • See the developing course pages for our TEM course (targeted for fall 1998), and our SPM course (to be prototyped in summer 1998).
  • Draft description of a possible summer workshop series targeted toward analytical service clients rather than operators.
  • Schematic on the focussing effect of magnetic lenses.
  • Our first meeting was Saturday 14 Feb 1998 in Molecular Room 101 at 9am. If you are still interested, stop in for a visit next Saturday morning, or let us know by e-mail.
  • Richard Anderson ordered his copy of the book from Amazon by overnight mail. However, their stock may be limited. I have also taken steps to get a lab copy, and have the bookstore fly in 10 copies of the text. However, I don't yet know how long that will take.
  • Haresh Siriwardane of MEMC Electronic Materials will be teaching the course, with help from collaborators primarily at UM-StL and Monsanto.
  • This course now has a university-wizarded webpage and discussion area.
  • Ask in class for the discussion password if you don't have it. The pre-course login ID is [Physcs381.E09], while the pre-course password is [Physcs381.E09]
    Questions this course might help you answer...
  • Why image with electrons rather than light?
  • How can I turn a piece of paper into a fish-eye lens?
  • From the vantage point of a micro-human, spiders look like...
  • What about micro and nano-worlds can a scanning electron microscope tell?
  • Why image with secondary rather than primary electrons?
  • What happens when a 20,000 volt electron encounters a penny?
  • How accurately may grain-size and RMS roughness be measured here?
  • What knob should I turn next?
  • Do flea-whiskers have whiskers?
  • What determines the resolution of an image?
    AnySpeed Engineering Complex ColorMath Information Physics NanoWorld Explorations Reciprocal World Silicon River StarDust in the Lab Web Puzzlers
    Atomic Physics Lab Center for Molecular Electronics Center for NeuroDynamics Physics & Astronomy Scanned Tip and Electron Image Lab
    Some local resources of possible interest:
  • Try focussing a high-res electron microscope image on-line!
  • deBroglie's electrons and some interesting TEM facts.
  • Three abstracts for the Winter 1998 AAPT Conference.
  • An applet for solving constant acceleration problems at any speed.
  • Does making a hotdog require 50 nanoseconds of life's power stream?
  • Start relativity with the metric equation instead of Lorentz transforms!.
  • Is statistical physics a dead subject, or is there another paradigm change afoot?
  • What other resources might help you? E-mail suggestions to pfraundorf@umsl.edu.
  • At UM-StLouis see also: a1toc, cme, i-fzx, phys&astr, programs, stei-lab, & wuzzlers.
  • Some current and previous courses: p111, p112, p231, p307, p308, p309, p325, p341, p400.
  • Cite/Link: http://newton.umsl.edu/~philf/p111f97s.html
  • This release dated 25 Aug 1997 (Copyright by Phil Fraundorf 1988-1997)
    A few of the many resources elsewhere on the web:
    Teaching/Learning Materials:
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy Stuff at Iowa State University.
  • Introduction to SEM at Dartmouth.
  • Operating Instructions for various scope types at University of Minnesota's CIE Characterization Facility.
  • What are electron microscopes, at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
  • American University Electron Microscopy Lecture Notes.
  • George Phillips' Diffraction/Scattering Notes & Teaching Article Links.
  • Biozentrum tutorials in Basel on practical light and electron microscopy.
  • Nanoworld notes from the University of Queensland, Australia.
  • Allen Sampson's Analyticus Pandectes and Microscellaneousities.
    Some colorized images
  • The MicroAngela (Tina Carvalho) gallery at University of Hawaii (Manoa).
  • The David Scharf poster set at Microscopy Today.
  • Dennis Kunkel's watermarked bug mugs, also at UH.
  • Some red-green 3D images for those who can't wait for interactive-microscopial virtualtinycity.
    Labs & Links:
  • MicroWorld Resources & News Microscopy Link List
  • Our Scanned Tip and Electron Image Lab Link List.
  • Scott Miller's electron microscopy lab page at UM-Rolla.
  • Page on Lehigh Microscopy Short Courses.
  • San Joaquin Delta College Microscopy Program Home Page.
  • University of Oklahoma's Virtual Library on Microscopy.
    Other Stuff:
  • Frank Potter's Science Gems.
  • Kenny Felder's Math and Physics Help pages.
  • Univ. Oregon Student Physics Problems Page
  • What is d^3x/dt^3? Check sci.physics' Frequently Asked Questions.
  • Contemporary Physics Education Project's Particle Adventure.
  • Other physics education links that may be of interest include those at: physlink, yahoo, quantum, c3p, & tiptop...
  • Press below for Alta-Vista's Dynamic Link-Lists on these topics...

    Some Suggested Supplementary Reading

    ...on the subject matter of this course...
  • Enrique Gonzalez-Velasco - Fourier Analysis and Boundary Value Problems (Academic Press, San Diego CA, 1995).
  • A. Bruce Carlson - Communication Systems - an intro to signals & noise in electrical communication (McGraw-Hill, NY, 1986).
  • Gerald Folland - Fourier Analysis and its Applications (Wadsworth & Brooks, Pacific Grove CA, 1992).
  • John M. Cowley - Diffraction Physics (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1981).
  • Kevin Cowtan - Book of Fourier.
  • John C. H. Spence - Experimental High-Resolution Electron Microscopy (Oxford University Press, Oxford 1988).

    ...tools that may prove useful...

  • The Web
  • MathCAD, Mathematica, Maple.
  • Numerical Recipes by Press, Teukolsky, Vetterling, and Flannery (Cambridge U. Press, 1988, 1992).

    ...on subjects of more general interest...

  • Galileo Galilei - Dialog Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632, translated by Stillman Drake, UC Press, 1962)
  • Roman Vinokur - The science of the jump shot: Kinematics on the basketball court, Quantum (Jan/Feb 1993) 46-50.
  • McBeath et. al. - How baseball outfielders determine where to run to catch fly balls, Science 268 (28 April 1995) 569-573.
  • Larry Gonick & Art Huffman, The Cartoon Guide to Physics (HarperPerennial, NY, 199_).
  • Larry Gonick & Woollcott Smith, The Cartoon Guide to Statistics (HarperPerennial, NY, 1993).
  • Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd edition (U. of Chicago Press, Chicago IL, 1970)
  • Joel A. Barker, The Business of Paradigms (ILI Press, Lake Elmo MN, 1985)
  • K. Eric Drexler, Engines of Creation (Anchor Doubleday, New York NY, 1986)
  • Stephen W. Hawking - A Brief History of Time
  • Jearl Walker, Flying Circus of Physics (John Wiley & Sons, 1975)
  • Michio Kaku, HyperSpace (Oxford University Press, 1994)
  • James Gleick, Chaos: Making a New Science (Penguin Books, 1987)
  • Stuart Kauffman, At Home in the Universe (Oxford University Press, 1995)
  • Kip S. Thorne, Black Holes & Time Warps (W. W. Norton & Co., 1994)
  • Mark Slouka, War of the Worlds (BasicBooks, 1995)
  • Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene (Oxford University Press, 1976)

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