AIF Short Courses

The various short courses offered by AIF are designed to provide in-depth understanding of different techniques and hands-on operation of AIF instruments.  Although courses can be lengthened or shortened to meet the needs of the student, most short courses are designed to run 1 day.  Course attendance is limited to a maximum 4-6 students to ensure the maximum transfer of knowledge via maximization of student/teacher interaction and to provide for sufficient hands on instrument time.

Most recently available short courses can be found in recent news and AIF event and news calendar.  AIF offers each short course multiple times every year. The cost for the short courses is $50 for NCSU students and non-profit organizations and $350 for attendants from industry.

Check our calendar for available short courses!

 

    Focus Ion Beam (FIB) Short Course

    The FIB short course includes lectures covering an introduction to the FIB technique, an overview of the principles and operation of the FIB as well as applications such as FIB prepared SEM and TEM cross section. Also, there will be hands on demos of these applications on the AIF Quanta Dual Beam FIB-SEM. To insure each student receives a maximum of time on the FIB, the course will be limited to 4 participants. For more details and to register, please contact Fred Stevie at fred_stevie@ncsu.edu.

     Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Short Course

    NCSU’s Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) offers a hands-on short course on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) on a routine basis.  In addition to two lectures on SEM theory, each student will get hands-on time running the AIF variable pressure SEM (VPSEM).  The goal of the course is to provide students a basic knowledge of both the theory and practice of SEM imaging, the data that can be derived thereof, and to understand what the generated data means.  This should allow a student who successfully completes the course to operate any SEM with minimal training.  By the end of the day, the students should be able to operate the VPSEM without assistance. To insure each student receives maximum hands-on time, the course will be limited to 3 participants. For more details and to register, please contact Chuck Mooney at cbmooney@ncsu.edu.

     Basic Vacuum Technology Short Course

    This is primarily a hands on course with some lecture time. Individuals will work on two functioning vacuum systems. Each attendee will manually remove and install components to learn practical knowledge when dealing with vacuum systems. Covered components include forepumps, turbomolecular pumps, ion pumps, thermocouple and cold cathode gauges, valves, flanges, and feedthroughs. The course instructor will be Fred Stevie. Fred has 40 years of experience with vacuum instrumentation and is an American Vacuum Society instructor. He is currently responsible for the Surface Analysis Laboratory at NC State. For more details and to register, please contact Fred Stevie at fred_stevie@ncsu.edu.

    Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Short Course

    The hands-on short course on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and related techniques provides understanding of the morphology, structure, defects, crystal orientation and phase information of materials, as well as the chemical distribution down to atomic resolution. It is meant for the TEM new users with interdisciplinary background and/or those interested in learning advanced characterization techniques. The course will include 1.5 hours theory component on Morning (9:00 am to 11:o0 am), and laboratories for the rest of the day.

    This introductory course will cover the following topics:

    1. Basic principles of TEM.
    2. Basic Diffraction and Imaging.
    3. Introduction of the advanced characterization techniques.

    After completion of this course, the attendee will be able to gain theory and practical knowledge on how to do basic imaging and diffraction within TEM, and what information the advanced TEM techniques can provide, as well as how to design their own experiments for their projects. For more details and to register, please contact Dr. Yang Liu at his email yliu78@ncsu.edu.

     X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Short Course

    This introductory course will cover basic principles of X-ray diffraction, operation of diffractometers in Bragg-Brentano geometry (that typically used for powders), and basic phase identification. It is meant for first-time XRD users and/or those interested in learning phase identification and pattern matching in HighScore software. The course will include 1 hour theory component, 1 hour of phase identification training in the AIF Data Analysis center, and 1-3 hours of a practical component in the XRD lab (as needed). After completion of this course and the EH&S course on Analytical X-ray Safety, attendees will be able to independently operate a diffractometer in basic mode. In order to facilitate authorization to use the equipment, participants are encouraged to take the Analytical X-ray Safety offered by EH&S (see details at https://www.aif.ncsu.edu/becoming-a-user/for this information and other requirements to gain future access to the instruments). Course is limited to 6 people. For more details and to register, please contact Dr. Ching-Chang Chung at his email cchung4@ncsu.edu

    Cryo-SEM Short Course

    AIF offers a hands-on short course on Cryogenic Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) on a routine basis.  There is a 1.5 hr lecture on CryoSEM theory, application and sample preparation. Each student will get hands-on time (90 minute or more per student) to learn how to prepare CryoSEM samples and how to operate JEOL JSM-7600 SEM.  The goal of the course is to provide students a basic understanding of both theory and practice.  To insure each student receives maximum hands-on time, the course will be limited to 4 participants. For more details and to register, please contact Chuanzhen Zhou at czhou@ncsu.edu.

     Confocal Raman Spectroscopy Short Course

    The Confocal Raman short course includes lectures covering an introduction to the Raman spectrometry and Confocal Raman spectroscopy technique, an overview of the principles and operation of the Raman as well as applications such as Raman on liquid, solids. Also, there will be hands on demos of these applications on the Horiba Xplora Confocal Raman. To insure each student receives a maximum of time on the Raman, the course will be limited to 4 participants. For more details and to register, please contact Chuanzhen Zhou at czhou@ncsu.edu.

     X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and ToF SIMS Short Course

    NCSU’s Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) is giving a hands-on short course on X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS). This introductory course will cover basic principles of surface analysis and the two commonly used techniques XPS and ToF-SIMS including theory and applications. It is meant for those who are interested in surface analysis of both soft and hard materials. The course will include 1 hour theory component of XPS and ToF-SIMS each in the morning and in the afternoon, respectively and 1.5 – 2 hour demonstration and hand-on of each instrument right after the lecture. The course will be limited to 4 participants. For more details and to register, please contact Chuanzhen Zhou at czhou@ncsu.edu.

     Ultramicrotomy Short Course

    The Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) is presenting a 1 day workshop on the Ulramicrotomy of various materials. Attendees will get hands on experience using the equipment and preparing the samples to cut. Also discussed will be sample preparation, analysis and cryo-ultramicrotomy. Attendees are encouraged to submit their own samples in the days prior to the workshop. Due to the hands on nature of this course the size will be limited to ensure users get adequate time on the instrument. For more details and to register, please contact Roberto Garcia at rgacia@ncsu.edu.

     Energy Backscattering Diffraction (EBSD) Workshop

    This Workshop will be mainly centered around specimen detector geometry and how the software gathers and interprets the data. This will be pertinent to EBSD and TKD data collection. The workshop will be set up as a lecture followed by hands on data processing using Aztec with data that has been previously acquired on the FIB. All current users of the EBSD system and those interested in learning more should attend. Please be prepared to ask questions and discuss any issues you are having. Email Roberto Garcia rgarcia@ncsu.edu to reserve a spot. Seating is limited and is on a first come first served basis.