Austrian Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis

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Austrian Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis (FELMI-ZFE)
founding 1951
place Graz , Austria Coordinates: 47 ° 3 ′ 50.1 ″  N , 15 ° 27 ′ 12.1 ″  E
management Ferdinand Hofer
Students 300 academic year 2014/2015
Employee 52 As of August 2015
Website www.felmi-zfe.at

The Austrian Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis (short form: FELMI-ZFE ) is a research association of the Institute for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis (FELMI) of the Graz University of Technology and the Center for Electron Microscopy Graz (ZFE, member of the ACR group, Austrian Cooperative Research ) of the non-profit association for the promotion of electron microscopy. It is located on the Neue Technik Steyrergasse campus in Graz .

The FELMI-ZFE is a center for research and services that offers all interested parties from the university and industrial sectors a comprehensive range of the latest electron microscopic examination methods for the microstructural and microchemical characterization of materials.

history

An industrial donation from 1949 formed the basis for purchasing the first electron microscope at the Graz University of Technology. In 1950 the establishment of an electron microscope research center under the direction of Fritz Grasenick began. In 1951 the first electron microscope, the “UEM100 super microscope”, was acquired from Siemens & Halske. Ernst Ruska , Werner Glaser and Otto Wolf were present at the opening ceremony . Although the Technical University provided rooms and infrastructure, it was necessary from the start to at least partially cover investments and the high operating costs by taking on industrial research contracts and the income generated from them. The rapidly increasing interest and the associated increased demand made it necessary to expand the research center in terms of personnel and equipment. In an effort to bring together the efforts of all funding agencies, the non-profit association for the promotion of electron microscopy and fine structure research was founded in 1959 under the presidency of Governor Josef Krainer senior . The Center for Electron Microscopy (ZFE) was assigned to the association. In the personal union of the head of both institutes, the role of the institute as an intermediary between research and practice becomes clear. More high-performance microscopes have been acquired over the years. In 2011, the most expensive and time-consuming acquisition to date was made when a scanning transmission electron microscope, unique in the world at that time, was put into operation. The ASTEM (Austrian Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope) enables magnifications of more than a million times, thus achieving atomic resolution. With an investment of 4.5 million euros, it was one of the largest investments in the scientific infrastructure in Austria.

Institute director

1951-1981 Fritz Grasenick
1982-1988 Herwig Horn
1989-1999 Wolfgang Geymayer
2000- Ferdinand Hofer

Organization and employees

The ASTEM is a FEI Titan³ G2 60-300.

The research association employs 52 people. This number fluctuates due to the numerous dissertation and research projects. Around 300 scientists visit the FELMI-ZFE every year.

International cooperation

It cooperates with around 30 research institutes and 140 companies. Since the acquisition of the ASTEM, the FELMI-ZFE has also been represented in the European research network ESTEEM2 (Enabling Science and Technology through European Electron Microscopy), which combines the research expertise of 14 electron microscopy laboratories in Europe.

tasks

The research activities of the institute concentrate on the development of new microscopic examination and preparation methods for the micro- and nanoanalysis of materials, components and biomaterials by means of electron microscopy and related microscopic methods. The most powerful electron microscopes in Central Europe are currently in use at the institute.

Research priorities

Six working groups conduct research on four areas:

  • Nanoanalysis of materials
  • Functional nanostructures
  • 3D and in situ characterization
  • Polymers and Biological Materials

Scientific instrumentation

Training and teaching

In the 2014/15 academic year, 300 students attended lectures and exercises at the Institute for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis or completed internships. The courses focus on the areas of fundamentals of physics, material analysis, electron microscopy and nanostructuring. 43 Bachelor and Master theses were written. In addition, apprentices are continuously trained in the fields of chemical laboratory technology and media technology.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Foundry Lexicon FELMI-ZFE. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  2. TU Graz Institute for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  3. ^ Austrian Cooperative Research. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  4. Partner: FELMI-ZFE, Graz University of Technology. Retrieved April 16, 2015 .
  5. Eliminate rivalries over research equipment. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  6. Supalative electron microscope at TU Graz. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  7. Word of the week: microscope. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  8. esteem 2 european network for electron microscopy. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  9. ^ Microscopy Meets Materials. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
  10. New manufacturing method for nano gas sensors opens doors. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .