Services Provided by the SEM Lab Lab users are responsible for fixing, drying, and mounting their specimens. To aid the user in specimen preparation, the SEM Lab has several reference books which may be checked out. A critical point dryer, specimen mounts, and special adhesives are provided by the lab. Lab personnel will be happy to consult with users about specimen preparation techniques and to provide instruction in the use of the critical point dryer.
Metal coating is done by the lab operator.
The user does not operate the microscope. However, it is necessary for the user to be present when the specimen is viewed because it is difficult, if not impossible, for an operator to know what information is needed from a specimen. Images obtained on the electron microscope are saved digitally as one megabyte TIFF files along with a text file containing information about the system parameters. These files can then be transferred to a ZIP disk or CD in a wide variety of graphic file formats. Micrographs can be produced on Polaroid Type 55 positive and negative film from these files.