Case School of Engineering's Swagelok Center for Surface Analysis of Materials (CSE-SCSAM) is Case Western Reserve University's (CWRU) multi-user analytical facility that provides instrumentation for material characterization through imaging, chemical analysis, and structure and property measurements. SCSAM’s facilities are available to all faculty, researchers, and students on the CWRU campus, along with external users from academic, non-profit, governmental, and industrial organizations. Each year, over 150 individual researchers from the academic, non-profit, and commercial sectors utilize the SCSAM facilities and work collaboratively with experienced SCSAM research engineers to extract valuable, high-quality data. The instruments are maintained by SCSAM’s Executive Director and four engineers (two full-time and two part-time) with graduate degrees and/or many years of experience. The staff and service contracts for the instruments are supported by user fees and a dedicated endowment and supplemented by the Case School of Engineering. Training on SCSAM’s instruments follows protocols developed by the staff engineers and is an individualized, multi-step process beginning with an online review of the theoretical background of the relevant technique followed by one-on-one hands-on training sessions that cover instrument operation, data acquisition, and data analysis. SCSAM instrumentation and staff support are important components of EMSE 515, “Analytical Methods of Material Science”, a course which has been taken by over 50 graduate and undergraduate students in the past 10 years. Since 2022, the SCSAM Fellowship program has funded 15 undergraduate and graduate students through its endowment to receive instrument training and learn new techniques. SCSAM’s current instrumentation consists of:
Image Analysis
Scanning Electron Microscopes
- Thermo Scientific Apreo 2S (NSF MRI Award: 2018167, Installed May 2021) with Hummingbird Continuous Flow Liquid Holder/Electrochemical Cell (NSF MRI Award: 2018167, Acquired May 2022)
- FEI Helios NanoLab 650 Dual-Beam System (Acquired 2010)
Transmission Electron Microscopes
- Remote Access Console to Thermo Scientific/FEI TEMs at The Ohio State University’s Center for Electron Microscopy and Surface Analysis (Installed September 2021) and access to their Tecnai G2-30, Titan 60-300, Themis Z S/TEM, Glacios cryo-TEM, Krios G3i cryo-TEM
Optical Microscopes
- Keyence VHX-5000 3D Optical Microscope (Acquired 2016)
- Keyence VR-6200 3D Optical Profilometer (Installed October 2022)
Atomic Force Microscope
- Veeco Dimension 3100 Atomic Force Microscope (Acquired 2003)
Chemical Analysis
Surface Analytical Capabilities
- PHI VersaProbe 5000 Scanning X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Microprobe (Acquired 2007)
- PHI TRIFT V nanoTOF Time-of-Flight Secondary-Ion Mass Spectrometer (Acquired 2009)
X-ray Fluorescence
- Bruker Tracer 5g portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (Installed October 2023)
Structure and Property Analysis
Nanoindentation
- Agilent G2000 Nanoindenter
X-ray Diffraction
- Rigaku SmartLab Multi-Purpose X-ray Diffraction System (Installed January 2024) with Anton-Paar DSC 500 Cooling/Heating Stage (Installed June 2024)
Sample Preparation
Polishing Equipment
- Gatan Illion Ion Polisher
- Struers Tegramin-25 Polishing System (Acquired 2016)
Deposition Equipment
- Denton Desk V Turbo-Pumped Sputter Coater (Installed March 2023)
SCSAM utilizes the Agilent iLab core management software for scheduling and billing. All SCSAM instruments are available at standard hourly rates approved by the CWRU Controller’s Office. The hourly rates are designed such that charges adequately cover SCSAM’s operating costs, including but not limited to personnel, consumables, repairs, maintenance, and service contracts. SCSAM’s current rate structure is shown on the official website. The hourly charges have funded ~30-60% of the facility's operating costs in the last three years. The Case School of Engineering has remediated shortfalls.