The Reston Electron Microbeam Laboratory is a multi-user facility that maintains and operates state-of-the art electron beam instruments to image and analyze micro-nanoscale properties. Lab staff along with providing instruction in the operation of microbeam instrumentation to lab users also conduct microbeam research on a variety of geologic topics.
Sample Preparation/Coating Equipment:
- Denton carbon benchtop turbo coater
- Leica ACE 600 carbon/iridium benchtop turbo coater
- Spi gold sputter coater
- E.A. Fischione 1060 SEM dual-beam ion mill (broad ion beam)
- Standard geologic sample preparation equipment: Epoxy and thermoplastic binder compounds, grinding/polishing equipment.
Electron Microbeam Instruments:
Along with various sample preparation equipment, the two main analytical instruments in the Reston Electron Microbeam Lab are the Hitachi SU 5000 field-emission variable pressure scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and the JEOL 8900 electron microprobe (EMP). The FE-SEM is capable of high-resolution imaging (≤5nm) and can be operated at low vacuum conditions to examine uncoated/beam sensitive samples. The FE-SEM is also equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) for elemental analysis and a cathodoluminescence (CL) detector for RGB imaging as well as CL-spectroscopy.
The EMP is equipped with 5 wavelength dispersive spectrometers (WDS) and is optimized for quantitative chemical analysis of solids. It is also equipped with an EDS-SDD for rapid phase identification prior to more detailed analysis.
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Textural occurrence and organic porosity of solid bitumen in shales
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Textural occurrence and organic porosity of solid bitumen in shales
This study presents Raman spectroscopic data paired with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to assess solid bitumen composition and porosity development as a function of solid bitumen texture and association with minerals. A series of hydrous pyrolysis experiments (1-103 days, 300-370°C) using a low maturity (0.25% solid bitumen reflectance, BRo), high total organic carbon [(TOC), 14.0 wt. %] New