Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

Practical Applications of Broad Ion Beam Milling

Mechanical polishing can be time consuming and frustrating. It can also introduce unwanted artifacts when preparing cross-sectioned samples for electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in the scanning…

Triple-beam Ar-Ion-Milling with a Rotary Stage to Decorate Grain Boundaries and Substructures in Rock Salt

Decoration of grain boundaries in polycrystalline rocks has a long tradition in Structural Geology as in a monomineralic rock the recrystallized grain size is a good indicator for the paleostress…

High Quality Sample Preparation for EBSD Analysis by Broad Ion Beam Milling

Electron Backscatter Diffraction technique (EBSD) is known as a "surface" technique because electron diffraction is generated within a few tens of nanometers of the sample surface. Therefore, the…

Analysis of Oil Shale as an Alternative Source of Energy

For some years now, the search for alternative sources of raw materials has concentrated on oil shale deposits. As the exploitation of these raw materials is still extremely complex and expensive,…

A Word on Cathodoluminescence

Cathodoluminescence microanalysis is an emerging technique that is fast gaining popularity in the world of materials science. CL is a light emission phenomena resulting from the electron beam…

University of Wollongong Electron Microscopy Centre

The University of Wollongong has a diverse range of materials research programs that includes metallurgy for mining, manufacturing, steel making and transport; polymers for solar cells, energy storage…