Mineralogy
Photo of postite by Joe Marty
The electron microprobe is the workhorse for providing high precision, in situ analyses of minerals, down to a spatial resolution of 1 micron, and our lab is equipped to provide routine analyses of silicates, oxides, sulfides and metals. With its extensive collection of natural and synthetic standards, the lab is also capable of conducting more specialized analyses including such things as nitrogen in clays, boron in borates and borosilicates, oxygen in synthetic materials to assess stiochiometry, carbon in metallic alloys, and fluorine in dental materials. We have also recently been successful in analyzing hydrated vanadates that are extremely sensitive to the electron beam.