JEOL USA Blog

Tabletop Scanning Electron Microscopes are powerful tools for failure analysis, quality control and materials characterization in additive manufacturing.

What is pesticide residue analysis, why is it important, and how can a GC-MS/MS instrument simplify this workflow?

Lithium-ion batteries were commercially introduced in 1991, presenting new analytical challenges in the quest to improve the quality, safety, and lifespan of this fastest-growing battery chemistry. The basic structure of Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) contains as many as 10 different thin films that are synthesized to form at least that many solid−solid interfaces. These interfaces consist of thin layers of cathode material, insulating barriers, anode materials, metal current collectors, and the electrolyte. These various components are in the form of powders, sheets, and fluids and require an assessment before and after assembly and after repeated charge/discharge operations.

Typical New England beach sand differs in color from light and dark grey to medium tan based on its common mineralogy, but at Plum Island Beach there are swatches of purple sand that appear haphazardly as one walks along the shore.

What makes the difference between a good SEM image and a stellar one? Imaging samples at the appropriate conditions, and that often means at very low accelerating voltage (low kV). It's time to give it a try!

Professor Simon Watkins' lab at University of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with JEOL USA, has been developing novel ways to analyze biological structures in 3D, utilizing correlative FESEM and fluorescence microscopy. The paper “Correlative Fluorescence and Electron Microscopy in 3D – Scanning Electron Microscope Perspective” (Current Protocols in Cytrometry) describes how the ability to correlate fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy data obtained on biological specimens bridges the resolution gap between the data obtained by these different imaging techniques.

During this unprecedented time when masks are being worn to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at masks. These were imaged on our IT500HR Scanning Electron Microscope at different magnifications.

Like any proud new owner, Cathy is anxious to get the new 1400, a 120kV TEM that is probably the most popular in its class for use in schools, hospitals, research labs, and materials, to work. She had a special plastic cover made for the JEM-1400 table, and it sits pristinely in the lab, yet idle, waiting for a new semester to begin whenever life returns to a new version of normal and schedules can resume.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Forensic Lab in Ashland, Oregon is helping to stop the export and import of rhino horn. The only wildlife forensic lab of its kind in the world, their work is identifying illegal exports and imports of products made from endangered wildlife as well as protected natural resources. JEOL is proud to share this story about how the AccuTOF-DART mass spectrometer is used to accurately identify the presence of rhino horn, as well as any suspicious items that may be made from endangered species, including pangolin and rare woods.