The Helium-Ion-Microscope Secondary-Ion-Mass-Spectrometer: A New Tool for Earth and Materials Science
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Authors
Ball, Matthew
Date
2021-09-01Awarding Institution
University of Cambridge
Qualification
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Type
Thesis
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Ball, M. (2021). The Helium-Ion-Microscope Secondary-Ion-Mass-Spectrometer: A New Tool for Earth and Materials Science (Doctoral thesis). https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.81765
Abstract
The Helium-Ion-Microscope Secondary-Ion-Mass-Spectrometer: A New Tool for Earth and
Materials Science - Matthew Ball
Geological materials are exceptionally complex, with heterogeneity across all lengthscales. Likewise, the history of these materials is complex, experiencing extremes of pressure and temperature from nanosecond shock events to the slow action of plate collision over
millions of years. Due to this, the key to unlocking the true history and importance of these
materials has increasingly been due to accurate measurements at the micro-to-nano-scale, with
microscopy and microanalysis at the forefront of this movement. The Helium-Ion-Microscope
Secondary-Ion-Mass-Spectrometer is a new tool which allows for the measurement of elements and isotopes at nanoscale resolution, the capabilities of which have yet to be explored
on geological materials. Here we explore the limits of this instrument on geological materials for the first time, from light element measurements, through isotopic analysis to heavy
platinum group elements in meteorites, with discussion on how best to use novel clustering
methods on large field of view datasets for correlative approaches.
Keywords
Earth Sciences, Microscopy, Microanalysis, Planetary Sciences
Sponsorship
CASE Sponsorship from ZEISS Microscopy
Funder references
EPSRC (1943910)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (1943910)
Identifiers
This record's DOI: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.81765
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