The Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) held a virtual groundbreaking ceremony on July 16 for a $5M project to install a new Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). This state-of-the-art piece of equipment will enhance the research capabilities and further enable collaboration at CAES. The new TEM is more technologically advanced than any of the current TEM resources at INL in several ways, including:
- Better energy resolution (0.2 eV compared to 0.8 eV)
- Improved spatial resolution at low accelerating voltages enables analysis of light elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen
- Equipped to better capture the behavior of dynamic materials, including phase changes and crystallization in harsh environments such as a reactor core
- Broader electron energy range enables research on a wider range of materials
Go here for more information about the project, which consists of two phases, with the first starting this week and consisting of modifications to the CAES facility to accommodate the sensitive equipment. This initial phase is expected to last three months. The second phase is scheduled to begin in November and calls for the installation of the TEM, which is expected to be operational in early 2021.
The TEM's placement in the Microscopy and Characterization Suite (MaCS) at CAES will make it accessible to researchers, students, and faculty at the CAES entities, and to researchers from across the world due to MACS's Nuclear Science User Facilities status.
Go here to watch a video of the ceremony.