Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Xray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS)
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Crane Engineering’s JEOL 5800LV Scanning Electron Microscope and Noran Voyager III Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry offer an unsurpassed analytical tool to meet clients’ varied needs. This technique provides rapid high-resolution imaging as well as elemental identification.
Send your samples directly to Crane Engineering or stop by and meet with a skilled technician on site. Crane Engineering provides clients with CDs or DVDs containing key images from the SEM session. These images are useful when preparing documentation for the Food and Drug Administration, internal research reports and presentations, and marketing brochures.
How SEM/EDS works:
- The surface of the specimen to be examined is scanned with an electron beam in an evacuated column, which is focused by condenser lenses and directed so that it impinges on a small spot on the target.
- Scanning coils allow the electron beam to scan in a raster fashion over a small area of the surface of the sample.
- The energy exchange between the electron beam and the sample results in the emission of electrons and electromagnetic radiation, which can be detected to produce an image having a depth of field.
- EDS utilizes x-rays that are emitted from the sample during bombardment by the electron beam
to characterize the elemental composition of the analyzed sample. - Elemental maps are recorded using image brightness intensity as a direct function of the local concentration of the elements present.
Uses:
- Elemental identification
- Chemical mapping
- FDA documentation
- Fire debris
- Medical devices
- Quality assurance
- R&D
- Fractography
- Corrosion residues
Application examples:
- Determine why a heart stent began failing during fatigue testing.
- Differentiate mold from soot in fire incidents.
- Analyze why a newly designed polymer catheter had consistent failures in the same area, time after time.
Sample guidelines for SEM/EDS:
- Samples must be vacuum compatible.
- The surface of the sample may or may not be polished and etched, but it must be electrically conductive; a very thin metallic surface coating must be applied to nonconductive materials.
- The low-vacuum SEM allows samples to be examined without extensive preparation.
- Even wet samples of evidence or tissue can be analyzed without spoliation.
Please contact Jean Schlosser for more specific details on Crane Engineering’s SEM/EDS capabilities.