The Electron Microprobe Lab houses a JEOL JXA-8500F electron microprobe that is equipped with a field-emission cathode, five wavelength-dispersive X-Ray spectrometers, and an energy-dispersive spectrometer. Electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) is mainly used to quantitatively investigate the chemical composition of rocks and mineral phases in the micrometer to centimeter range.
Typically, polished sections of rocks or minerals are used for this purpose, but highly vacuum-resistant fossil …

The Scanning Electron Microscopy Lab houses a JEOL JSM-6610LV scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM is equipped with a LaB₆ cathode and is coupled to a Bruker Quantax 800 energy-dispersive X-Ray spectrometer, a cathodoluminescence detector, and an electron-backscatter diffraction detector. The SEM is typically used for structural and chemical analysis of rocks, minerals, and fossils. The large sample chamber holds objects up to ten centimeters in size. The SEM can be operated in a …