A NEW PARADIGM - MULTIUSER SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

A laboratory designed for teaching the operation of a scanning electro n microscope. (SEM) has been developed at Iowa State University. The l aboratory was developed to enhance the education of undergraduate and graduate students in the use of the electron microscope by allowing mo re students to gain hands-on experience at operating an SEM. While the system was designed for teaching purposes, the concept of a multi-use r SEM has clear applications for industry and research as well. For ex ample, researchers will be able to conduct SEM investigations from the ir offices using desktop computers; live images can be acquired and di splayed during staff: meetings in a conference room; production engine ers can view quality-control samples while on the production floor. In short, a multi-user SEM possesses enormous potential for a wide varie ty of applications.