Electron Microscopy Center

General Information for EMC Users

The Electron Microscopy Center (EMC) is an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory. It is one of three scientific user facilities for electron beam microcharacterization and one of several National User Facilities located at Argonne National Laboratory.

As a scientific user facility, the EMC supports user-accessible instruments (Resources) for high spatial resolution microanalysis, field imaging, nanoscale structural characterization, nanoscale fabrication and manipulation, and unique in situ studies of materials under the influence of ion-beam irradiation. These capabilities are used in a diverse variety of research areas to address grand challenge scientific questions encompassing, for example, energy-related studies, biology, astrophysics, archaeology, superconductivity, nanotechnology, environmental engineering, tribology, and ferroelectricity. The research is performed both by users and by EMC staff. While many users work independently, the most challenging research activities require extensive contributions from EMC staff.

All research access to the EMC is through peer-reviewed proposals. The goal of the proposal review is to ensure that the best scientific outcomes are realized and that the EMC resources are used for maximum scientific impact. All proposals first undergo a technical review by EMC staff. Following the technical review, each proposal is reviewed by the independent EMC Proposal Review Committee.

Users who carry out proprietary work will be charged an hourly fee that is based on full cost recovery. Users who carry out nonproprietary and publicly-disseminated work will not be charged an hourly fee.

More information is available through the links at left.

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