EPS/IOM Electron Microbeam Facility

Welcome to the Electron Microbeam Facility, located in Northrop Hall of the UNM Main Campus. This page gives an overview of our instrumentation, its capabilities and uses, and rates for usage and sample preparation. Please use the menu bar or the links below to visit the page's various sections for more details.

Technical Support
A full-time staff member oversees the maintenance and operation of the microbeam facility. Beyond the day-to-day upkeep of the facility, staff members of the Institute of Meteoritics are responsible for optimizing analytical conditions, establishing calibration procedures, conducting analyses, training new users, and assisting with the evaluation and interpretation of resulting data. In addition, our staff will conduct analyses on client samples. Samples may either be sent to our laboratory with adequate documentation for analysis or customers may elect to be present at the time of analysis in order to assist in identifying the sample locations (recommended).

Specializations
The combination of the Electron Microprobe and Scanning Electron Microscope allows for a number of applications and specialization for a diverse range of fields of study. We list just a few of the projects that we have or are currently working on:

  • Archeology: Mineral chemistry and mineral phase analysis of potsherds to determine material source location.
  • Environmental Geology: Analysis of uranium mining waste from many decades ago, now contaminating aquifers in New Mexico and Arizona.
  • Planetary Science:
    • On-going characterization of new meteorite finds.
    • High-resolution imaging and X-ray mapping of Martian meteorite NWA7034 (Black Beauty).
    • Analysis of Lunar sample73002, a "drive tube" core sample, opened for the first since, 40 years after being collected by Apollo 17astronauts
  • Industry: High-resolution surface imaging for the determination of the effects of Particle Beam bombardment.
  • Biology: Exploration for evidence of microbial life in caves as analogs for the search for life on other planets.
  • Chemistry: Chemical analysis of vapor deposited thin films.
  • Medicine: Imaging and chemical analysis of potentially toxic microplastics.
  • Engineering: Imaging of filtered particulates in a new generation of water purification for third-world countries.

Instrumentation
Follow this link for information on instrumentation available in the facility: The electron microprobe and the scanning electron microscope. Our facility can also arrange additional analytical support through both the Institute of Meteoritics and the UNM Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, including but not limited to bulk chemical analysis of digested solids by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), ICP-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), isotopic analysis, and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD).

Usage Rates, Other Costs, and Instrument Manuals
Follow this link for hourly rates for instrument usage and for sample preparation costs.
Follow this link to download user manuals for both instruments

For further information please contact:
Mike Spilde
Laboratory Manager
Institute of Meteoritics
MSC03 2050
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
E-mail: mspilde /at/ unm /dot/ edu

Phone: 505-277-5430
Fax: 505-277-3577