FAQ

The W. M. Keck Center for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis (Keck CAMM) is a multi-user laboratory for the University of Delaware and those in the region. Anyone on the UD campus or from outside who needs to use the facility for research/development and/or teaching is welcome to do so. A parking map for the facility can be found at a link “here”.

Before using the facility, a user may want to discuss his or her project in-person and/or by email with Dr. Yong Zhao, Dr. Yuying Zhang, or Ms. Yaping Wang at the facility concerning the research he or she wants to accomplish from the microscopy. The user will need to register and further have to sign up for training. Any and all new users of an instrument, whatever experience they may have prior to accessing the facility, need to schedule their first use and/or trainings with a staff member. For novice SEM and AFM users, this may include 2-3 training sessions (2-3 hours per session). TEM training normally takes 3 or 4 TEM sessions (3-4 hours per session). All regular users are strongly recommended to take relevant courses such as MSEG 602/603 – Structure of Materials and MSEG 624 – Practical Electron Microscopy in Materials Science.
Frenquently Asked Questions:
What is Keck CAMM?
Keck CAMM is a user facility for the structural and chemical characterization of materials at scales ranging from micron to angstrom. The laboratory largely serves the research groups in the College of Engineering and from other units on campus at the University of Delaware. It also facilitates teaching purposes.
Where is Keck CAMM?
Keck CAMM is located in the research wing of the Harker Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Laboratory on the UD campus. The street address is: 221 Academy Street, Newark, DE 19716. There are 10 rooms that house the various facilities for microscopy technology available to faculty, students, and other scientists and researchers.
I need to use the facility, what am I supposed to do?
  1. If you haven’t registered as a user, you need to go through an online registration @ http://fom01.engr.udel.edu to provide some information including one or more purpose codes of your research.
  2. After your scheduling account is set in a day or two, you may then book the instrument of your choice based on your own schedule using http://fom01.engr.udel.edu.
  3. Any and all new users of an instrument, whatever experience they may have prior to accessing the facility, need to schedule their first use and/or trainings with a staff member.
  4. For training, after you book your time, you will need to send an email to Dr. Yong Zhao (yongzhao@udel.edu), Dr. Yuying (Kayla) Zhang (yuyingz@udel.edu), or Ms. Yaping Wang (wangyp@udel.edu) to request for a confirmation from one of them about their availability. You will then be advised either to keep the schedule or to cancel current schedule and re-schedule a different time. At the same time, you may receive a copy of the operation manual of the instrument and additional instructions.
  5. Read the manual before you come to training. Bring your copy with you to make notes on.
  6. Only well trained users can schedule regular instrument use by themselves during office hours.
  7. Off-hours access to specific instruments is granted to authorized individuals after a satisfactory evaluation of the corresponding operation skills by a staff member.
  8. Facility is on the first floor in the research wing of the Harker ISE Lab (rooms 154-159 & 171-174) and the offices are located at 164, 258 and 250V ISE Lab.
How do I know which Instrument to use?
If you are not sure which instrument you should use, we can help you choose one if you tell us what you would like to know about your sample.
How much will it cost?

The cost depends on your experience and on what you are trying to get from your particular samples. Current rates can be found here. We have not started to charge any use of ancillary equipment or general consumables.

Fees collected are all used to offset lab operation costs.
Do I have to bring my own consumables?
Yes, if they are user specific. Depending on project needs, the consumables users may need to bring include TEM grids with C support or Lacey C grids, special TEM grids, special standards, diamond knives, and/or SPM tips. You will be told what to buy and where to buy these items during your training. If the new users are unsure about what grids and other supplies they should purchase, especially during the initial stage of a research project, the lab will provide consumables for the exploratory work. The lab also provides general consumables including chemicals, gases, liquid nitrogen, TEM films, a few types of slot or mesh grids, gloves, paper towels, and any of those related to the instrument maintenance.
It may take me too long to learn. Why can’t you just do it for me?

Yearly, more than 200 users access this facility for research and research training, and about 50 additional graduates and undergraduates use the facility for course assignments. While we do try to help start projects during training sessions, there are not enough of us to perform characterization service work. Much of the EM for research is too complex to be accomplished on a service basis anyway. It costs more than a few hours of EM lab time and a handful of images and/or spectra.

To train students using microscopy on their own for their research also serves one of the very objectives of a lab like this in an educational institution.
Can I get training from another user?
Possibly. There are a few graduate students and post-docs who have long and continuing activities at this facility and have considerable experience with the instruments. When they have new users in their groups, the more experienced users can get permission from EMF staff to work with the new users to get them started on their projects and familiarize them with the instruments. The senior user must be in the instrument room at all times during any such introduction. New users must all be reviewed by EMF staff prior to using the instruments on their own.
Where is the equipment I need to use located in the ISE Laboratory?
  • Room 154 – Sample Preparation Laboratory
  • Room 155 – JEM-2010F TEM
  • Room 157 – Talos F200C
  • Room 158 – Tecnai G2 12 TEM
  • Room 159 – JEM-3010 TEM
  • Room 164 – Microscopy Support Office
  • Room 171 – Atomic Force Microscopes
  • Room 172 – JSM-7400F SEM
  • Room 173 – CryoTransfer & Desktop TEM
  • Room 174 – Auriga Dual Beam SEM/FIB
Other questions Any additional questions can be emailed to Yong Zhao.