Laboratories for microscopy

Within the field of microscopy, there are several laboratories linked to the Faculty of Science and Technology at UiS. An overview of equipment and facilities follows.

Published 30. Mar. 2022. Updated on 01. Mar. 2024

These study programmes use the laboratories in teaching:

Get to know our laboratories for microscopy.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM)

The scanning electron microscope is part of the material characterisation activities at the faculty. Samples can be imaged down to micro and nanometre levels. This is possible because electron microscopes use electrons to illuminate the sample/create a magnified image of what is being analysed, unlike ordinary optical microscopes that use light.

Bombarding a sample with electrons produces various signals that provide information about the surface, microstructure, and chemical composition. Users can take images using secondary electrons (SE), backscattered electrons (BSE) and cathodoluminescence (CL), as well chemical analysis using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and crystal orientation mapping by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). Numerous disciplines use SEM and the equipment is available for use by students, staff, and external stakeholders by agreement.

Instruments

Zeiss Supra VP35 equipped with EDAX EDS system and NORDIF EBSD system
Jeol JSM-IT800, equipped with EDS detectors from Oxford and NORDIF EBSD system. The instrument is also set up for automated mineralogy
Leica ACE600 coater

Analysis and methods

Detectors for SE, BSE, CL, EDS, MLA and EBSD
Coating with gold, palladium copper, nickel or carbon ahead of analyses

Contact person: Espen Undhei m

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through a sample to form an image or diffraction pattern to characterize various microstructural and crystallographic properties of materials.

Primarily, TEM is used to analyse morphology, composition, crystal defects and phases of materials. Because of the small wavelength effect of the electrons, TEM provides a resolution down to an atomic level. In principle, all kinds of substances can be studied by TEM. For analysis with conventional TEM, the samples must be electron transparent and conductive. The TEM is used by students and staff as well as external research institutions and industry.

Instrumenter

JEOL JEM-2100
Gun: LaB₆Filament
Operating Voltage (HT): 80 - 200 kV
Camera: CMOS XAROSA, RADIUS software
Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy: EDAX (Silicon Drift Detector)
STEM detectors: Bright field and darkfield detectors

Analyser og metoder

TEM, STEM, CBD, NBD
The sample (part of a sample) to be analysed with TEM must be about 100 nm thick or less. If the samples to be analysed are in nano-structured form, they should be suspended/placed on a grid (Cu, Au, …), or on a Lacey Carbon film or a Holey Carbon film on a grid. The samples should generally be dry and non-magnetic.TEM, STEM, CBD, NBD

Contact person: Wakshum Mekonnen

Light microscopy

The Faculty of Science and Technology has many different types of microscopes, which are used in laboratories across multiple disciplines. These microscopes include stereo microscopes, inverted microscopes and polarisation microscopes with different magnification options. Several of the microscopes have associated cameras and software for image processing.

Instruments

Polarized light microscopes
Stereo microscopes
Inverted microscopes

Analysis and methods

Microscopic analysis of samples
Imaging
Software with various analysis and measurement tools.

Contact persons: Caroline Ruud (geology), Julie Nikolaisen (Chemistry, environmental engineering, biology), Johan Andreas Håland Thorkaas (metallurgy,inverted light microscopes).

Raman spectroscopy

With the help of Raman spectroscopy, the structure of materials can be examined. The technique is based on the Raman effect and is based on molecular oscillations or lattice oscillations that are generated when a substance is exposed to electromagnetic radiation

In Raman spectroscopy a laser is applied to irradiate samples. This will polarise and excite the molecules, leading to frequency-shifted scattering, which carries information about the vibration frequency of the molecule in question. From the measured vibration spectra, one may learn about the binding, symmetry, and structure of molecules.

Instruments

Renishaw inVia Qontor Raman Microscope

Analyser og metoder

The instrument can switch between a red, green and blue laser (633, 532 and 457 nanometre wavelength).
The samples may be in gas, liquid or solid state. Sample heating/cooling stages are available for the measurements at 77 K to 600 °C range.

Contact person: Olena Zavorotynska

Cathodoluminescence microscopy

A cathodoluminescence microscope combines the methods of an electron microscope with the methods of a regular light-optical microscope. This makes it possible to study structures in crystals or substances that cannot be seen under normal lighting conditions.

Cathodoluminescence is a light effect on many minerals that occurs when the mineral is bombarded with electrons. The more impurities and crystal-lattice defects the material has, the more likely it is to give a cathodoluminescence signal. In the cathodoluminescence microscope, the effect can be seen as light in different colours, and the light can be measured for its wavelength spectrum.

Instruments

Lumic hot-cathodoluminescence microscope HC6-LM
Olympus polarising microscope BXFM with vacuum chamber
Olympus XC10 CCD camera
Princeton Instruments spectrometer Acton SP2300 with PIXIS 400B camera

Analysis and methods

Cathodoluminescence photography (up to x10 lens)
Spectral measurements (areas from ca. 125 µm for weakly luminescent material like quartz, smaller areas for stronger-luminescent material)

Polished thin sections are required. As a standard for us, the equipment is set up and calibrated for wavelengths of 315-881 nm (near UV, visible light, near IR) with a measuring distance of 0.42 nm..

Contact persons: Carita Augustsson and Caroline Ruud

Confocal microscopy

Confocal microscopy is used to visualize subcellular structures, as you are able to focus a small beam of light at a narrow depth level at a time. Confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique for increasing optical resolution by means of using a spatial pinhole to block out-of-focus light in image formation.

Capturing multiple two-dimensional images (x,y plane) at different depths (z plane) in a sample enables the reconstruction of three-dimensional structures (a process known as optical sectioning) within an object. This is commonly used in visualizing structures within life sciences but may also be used for materials sciences.

Instruments