Electron Microscopy Core
The Electron Microscopy Core (EMC), located on East Campus in the Science and Engineering South building and on West Campus in the Medical Sciences building, is a central facility offering access to instrumentation, training, and service using scanning (SEM), transmission (TEM) and scanning transmission (STEM) electron microscopy, surface analysis (XPS) and vibrational spectroscopy (Raman). EM instruments and services are located in two laboratories, one on each side of campus. EMC staff have a broad range of experience covering life and materials science specimen preparation, imaging and spectroscopy using electron microscopes and surface analysis using XPS and Raman.
The EMC mission is to provide cost-effective, safe and efficient access to state-of-the-art and core electron microscopy imaging and analytical characterization, and also surface analysis by XPS or Raman, with 24/7 access for the UIC community and beyond. In addition to instrument access, EMC staff offer advice, hands-on training, education and research collaboration. EMC aims to promote, enable, and encourage cutting-edge education and research using the core’s instrumentation.
Instrumentation in the EMC includes two TEMs for materials science applications, one TEM for life science applications; two SEMs used by both life science and materials science users, XPS and a Raman Spectrometer. Equipment for life science specimen preparation includes freeze substitution, coating, and ultramicrotomy. Equipment for materials science specimen preparation includes slicing, disc cutting, polishing, ultramicrotomy, electrochemical and ion beam milling.