The purpose of this grant is to acquire a high-resolution field- emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) with backscattered- electron-detection capability. We are requesting the Hitachi S- 4500-II, which produces high-resolution images at both low and high accelerating voltages, accommodates a range of sample sizes, and has an excellent service and reliability record. Other equipment items essential for obtaining or processing high- resolution images are also requested, including a critical-point dryer, a thin-film sputter coater, and a high-resolution printer. The applicants are a group of investigators at Johns Hopkins University Medical School who need the 10- to 20-fold improved resolution offered by FESEM over standard scanning electron microscopes. The microscope will be housed in the Johns Hopkins Microscopy Center, a facility that offers ready access to optical and electron microscopes to both the Hopkins community and the wider scientific community in Baltimore.
