Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The purchase of a Quorum Q150T ES sputter coater as proposed is essential for research programs requiring scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-Ray Energy Dispersive (EDS) elemental mapping. The new unit will replace an ailing 23-year-old device. Its use will enable researchers at Carleton University to examine a wider range of specimens with greater ease, resolution, and accuracy than is currently possible. High-resolution imaging with electrons requires sample surfaces to be conductive. This is typically achieved by coating specimens with metal or carbon. Without this, high-resolution imaging is subject to charging and distortion artifacts caused by electron build-up on the surface. Samples for TEM are typically examined on carbon-coated grids. Glow discharge is used to ""wet"" the grid for improved sample attachment. The requested unit combines all of these functions. Drs. Hepworth, Rowland, and Yack in Biology, Drs. Barry, Ianoul, and DeRosa in Chemistry, and Dr. Patterson in Earth Sciences urgently require a sputter coater to continue their research programs. The existing unit is failing and lacks critical functions. Drs. Hepworth, Rowland, and Yack require a sputter coater for SEM to view plant morphology and novel acoustic organs in invertebrates at the cellular level. Dr. Patterson requires a sputter coater for SEM imaging of microfossils in climate and land-use change studies. Drs. Barry, Ianoul, and DeRosa require a sputter coater to analyze the topology of novel thin films, nanoparticles, and aptamer-based microcapsules by SEM, TEM, and EDS. Additional users from Science and Engineering at Carleton, local universities, government agencies, and industry will access the sputter device through the Nano Imaging Facility. This new equipment will support the annual research and training of more than 100 students.