Marsden Fast Start grant for microscopy research
Dr Ruth Knibbe has been awarded a Marsden Fast Start grant to enable her to investigate nano-sized defects in YBCO superconductors.
The research project will utilise electron microscopy to characterise the structures of complex defects in superconducting materials, which improve its properties. The Marsden grant includes contributions from colleague Dr Stuart Wimbush and PhD student Anne-Helene Puichaud.
“Scanning electron microscopes (SEM) have many advantages over traditional microscopes”, says Dr Knibbe. They have a large depth of field, which allows more of a specimen to be in focus at one time. They also offer higher resolution, so closely spaced specimens can be magnified and visualised clearly.”
Two new recently acquired microscopes will be used in the YBCO project, but are also available for use by clients and collaborators to investigate the morphology and microstructure of a biological, ceramic, polymer or metal sample. Such analyses include failure analysis, fracture and degradation investigations, forensic investigations, particle size analysis and rock porosity determination.
The SEM service can provide imaging, chemical composition and crystal orientation mapping with image resolution up to one nanometre.