19 November 2012
The Otago EBSD lab is now operational for ice work. Last week was spent building "nitrogen glove-box" v2.0 (v1.0 was the one we "built" in Dartmouth 2 years ago). On Friday we prepared a synthetic sample by freezing water onto some seed ice particles and we we're able to get good forescatter images, EBSD patterns and maps, without any frost formation on the sample and without any significant (there was a little at some stage- pre SEM chamber I think) sublimation. The results (some attached) are of little scientific value but are an important technological step for us. Sample was "dome" shaped. Thanks to Jim Woods and Trevor Dougles for building the "constrained" part of the glove box and Imogen Browne who built (more than once) the less constrained parts. Thanks to Kat Lilly, Imogen and Richard Easingwood for being there to make it work on the day. A few pics of the set up attached. Glove box v2.1 will be built over coming weeks, but for now v2.0 works. In the next week or so we hope to prepare and map some of the "standard ice" samples that Kathy Cresswell-Moorcock and Alex Wilson made possible (by building and testing all the kit to do this- and making a sample)- then we can do some science.
-Dave Prior
SEM end of Glove Box
Glove box in construction
Almost ready to go
Glove box ready to go
Glove box in action
The cold stage
The flow chart
Ice data summary