Acid digestions of solid samples for main and trace element analysis are carried out in a modern digestion laboratory with special digestors that are also suitable for working with hydrofluoric and perchloric acid. The samples can be prepared as open digestions using the DigiPrep heating block system (SCP Science) or as closed digestions using the Multiwave 5000 microwave reaction platform (Anton Paar).
The Vitriox Electric 4+ fusion unit from Fluxana is available for the production of glass …

Jaw crushers are available for crushing rocks and other geological samples. Various mills (vibrating disc mill, McCrone mill) are available for further processing, which pulverize the granulates for further analysis.

The Electron Microprobe lab offers non-destructive chemical analyses of solids using a JEOL JXA-8200 Electron Probe Microanalyzer (EPMA) with an EDX detector. The microprobe is capable of quantitatively measuring the abundance of all elements from C to U using five wavelength-dispersive spectrometers (WDS) and an energy-dispersive X-Ray spectrometer (EDX) for rapid analyses. This analytical technique combines micron-scale chemical analyses with scanning electron microscopy and is capable of …

By using this elemental analyzer (Euro EA 3000) it is possible to determine the concentration of nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen in solid samples. The substance to be analysed is digested by an oxidative combustion of samples packaged in tin foil. The combustion takes place explosively in a highly oxygen enriched He atmosphere. Gases that generated during the combustion are led by the carrier gas (helium) into the separation column. CO₂, H₂O, N₂ and SO₂ are separated chromatographically within …

The HT-HP-Laboratories comprises a vertical gas-mixing furnace (Carbolite-Gero STF 16/180) for for synthesis of glasses or crystals under controlled oxygen fugacity (f₀₂ conditions). Gas mixtures of CO, CO₂ and Ar/H₂ are possible or experiments can be run under atmospheric conditions.
The laboratory further includes diamond anvil cells (DAC) and laser heating needed for own and collaborators' high pressure and high temperature research. In detail, there is a suite of different types of …

The hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell (HDAC) can be applied to study fluids, solids and particularly aqueous samples in situ at high pressures and temperatures. Although such cells are usually used at P-T conditions of less than 3 GPa and 850 °C, experiments with aqueous fluids to 23 GPa and 1025 °C have been reported in the literature.
Because diamonds are transparent over a large range of the electromagnetic spectrum, samples in the HDAC can in principle be studied using any "photon-in – …

ICP-OES is an analytical method for the determination of elements in the concentration range from μg/l to g/l. The ICP-AES laboratory uses an ICP5100 with vertical dual view (VDV) from Agilent. By using a vertically arranged torch is it possible to observe the plasma in both directions axial and radial. The simultaneous measurement of all elements of interest enables a short measurement time. This allows a high sample throughput and the processing of very small sample volumes as well.
The …

In principle, an internally heated pressure vessel (IHPV) consists of a thick-walled pressure vessel sealed by closure plugs at the ends. In addition, there is a pressure inlet/outlet as well as several electrical leads into the vessel for power supply to and temperature control of the internal furnace. The equipment is particularly designed for experimental studies at medium to high temperatures (currently up to 1250 °C) and pressures up to 10 kbar. This P-T range is inaccessible by …

The LA-ICP-MS facility at the University of Potsdam is used for in situ microanalysis such as precise U-Th-Pb age determination of accessory minerals (e.g. zircon, monazite, and apatite) and trace element analysis of silicate materials (e.g. garnet, zircon) in geological samples. Quantitative analyses can be obtained for most elements in the mass range from ⁷Li to ²³⁸U at low ppm level and spatial resolutions of 15 to 150 microns. Samples can be epoxy mounts (2.54 cm or 0.8-1 cm in diameter) …

Optical microscopes are available in the Microscopy Lab for different techniques, such as brightfield, polarization contrast, fluorescence. The microscopes can also be equipped with the following cameras: Sony Alpha 6000 digital camera and Kern ODC-86 microscope camera.

The lab is also equipped with a FlowCam 5000 by Yokogawa, which is a particle analyzer capable of taking optical images. It is comparable to a flow cytometer and features a syringe pump and 100 x 700 µm glass capillary, …