NDnano Undergraduate Research Fellowship (NURF) 2011 Project Summary

Student name: Sebastian Ortega Faculty mentor name: Dr. Gary Bernstein Project title: Scanning Electron Microscope

My  NURF  project  revolved  around  the  practical  operations  of  a  scanning  electron  microscope.  My  objective  was  to  teach  and  assist  others  in  the  field  of  electron  microscopy  so  that  the  scanning  electron  microscope,  SEM,  could  be  used  as  a  functioning  research  tool.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  goal  my  first  objective  was  to  learn  about  electron  microscopy  and  how  it  is  used  to  produce  an  image  from  the  SEM.  Once  learned,  I  would  then  have  to  come  up  with  a  way  of  presenting  this  research  tool  to  the  general  public  in  a  way  that  was  both  interesting  and  engaging.  The  problem  with  this  project  was  that  first  I  had  to  make  the  SEM  in  B34  Stinson-­‐Remick  operational  again.    

To  learn  about  electron  microscopy  I  read  the  book  entitled  Scanning  Electron  Microscopy  and  X-­‐Ray  Microanalysis  by  Goldstein  et  al.  and  watched  several  recorded  lectures  that  Dr.  Bernstein  had  given  on  electron  microscopy.  To  learn  about  the  application  of  electron  microscopy  within  the  imaging  system  of  a  SEM,  I  was  put  in  charge  of  the  care  and  maintenance  of  the  SEM  in  B34  Stinson-­‐Remick  Hall.  This  meant  that  I  was  the  technical  point  of  contact  who  had  to  troubleshoot  and  rehabilitate  the  SEM  to  be  a  working  research  tool  once  again.    By  summer’s  end  I  had  taken  apart  and  worked  on  every  part  of  the  SEM  including  the  vacuum  systems,  the  chilling  system  and  the  actual  column  of  the  SEM  that  controls  the  electron  particle  beam  as  it  is  focused  on  the  user’s  specimen.  Taking  the  time  to  understand  the  mechanics  of  the  SEM  allowed  me  the  opportunity  to  conduct  hands  on  tutorials  where  I  showed  others  how  the  SEM  worked  and  how  to  use  it  in  order  to  supplement  their  research  projects.  The  people  whom  I  taught  ranged  from  school  teachers  to  university  students.  To  fully  accomplish  my  project  of  teaching  others  about  the  SEM  so  that  it  could  be  used  to  enhance  various  research  projects,  I  had  to  find  a  way  to  make  the  use  of  the  SEM  easier.  To  do  this,  I  enhanced  the  existing  website  at  electronphotos.nd.edu.  This  website  provides  users  with  a  way  to  host  their  images  taken  with  the  machine,  schedule  usage  times  with  the  machine  and  catch  up  on  some  of  the  basic  workings  of  the  SEM  through  posted  videos  and  lectures  on  SEM  imaging.  The  results  of  my  project  were  successful.  The  SEM  in  B34  Stinson-­‐Remick  is  once  again  fully  operational  with  a  brand  new  water  pump  installed  within  the  chilling  system  of  the  unit.  Also  I  have  aided  other  NURF  students  with  some  useable  pictures  of  paper  fiber  and  some  of  Dr.  Bernstein’s  graduate  students  with  images  of  computer  chips  used  for  quilt  packaging  research.  Also  I  have  inspired  Mike  Lewis,  a  high  school  teacher  from  Gary  Indiana,  to  create  a  new  approach  for  inspiring  his  students  to  become  more  engaged  in  research.  His  plan  is  to  show  students  a  buildup  of  everyday  items  used  in  the  world  today  from  the  smallest  subunits  to  the  most  complex  systems.  He  will  be  using  SEM  micrographs  to  show  the  smallest  structures  of  items  such  as  plants  and  computer  systems.  These  images  will  

 then  be  hosted  on  a  website  that  I  am  also  helping  him  design,  in  order  to  allow  students  to  interact  with  samples  and  become  inspired  to  research  how  things  work.  The  goal  is  to  inspire  students  to  question  and  spark  interests  in  researching  how  to  improve/create  new  systems  from  the  understanding  of  what  they  are  made  out  of.  

     

Figure 1: A 3D micrograph of a wasp head. This image illustrates the use of a sputtered gold coating on an organic sample in order to produce an SEM micrograph.