Acquisition of a scanning electron microscope for the Laboratory of Materials Analysis of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UNICAMP

Abstract

The objective of this proposal is to re-equip the Laboratory of Materials Analysis of the UNICAMP FEM (School of Mechanical Engineering) with a new conventional (low-vacuum) scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with accessories for analyses involving energy-dispersive spectroscopy, wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction. The request is bolstered by three projects financed by FAPESP (two Thematic Projects and one Regular Project). It is also supported by numerous complementary projects. The UNICAMP/FEM Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering is divided into three tracks, one of which is Manufacturing Materials and Processes. In the most recent tri-annual evaluation by Capes (2007), that program received a score of 7 out of 7. A significant portion of the scientific production of the program comes out of the Manufacturing Materials and Processes division, which has 22 professors and 100 masters or doctoral students. Many of those researchers routinely use SEM. In 1975, the Manufacturing Materials and Processes division initiated the operation of one of the first SEMs in the country. In 1995, that was replaced with another SEM that was more modern (manufactured in 1988 and donated by IBM of Brazil). In 2004, that second SEM was refurbished, extending its life span, which is, however, now drawing to a close. Our request for the replacement of the existing equipment is founded in the following aspects: (a) the current SEM is quite old (having had 22 years of use), is used extensively, and requires maintenance that has become increasingly more onerous and labor-intensive; (b) the results of its analyses leave much to be desired when compared with those of more modern equipment; (c) the needs of the UNICAMP/FEM are centered around conventional equipment, which is less costly than are high-resolution field-emission gun microscopes, such as those employed at the National Synchrotron Light Laboratory; and (d) the success of research developed at the UNICAMP/FEM is highly dependent on having rapid access to the equipment, which makes the use of microscopes at other institutions unfeasible. (AU)