Flinders University has commissioned a powerful new microscope as part of a national initiative to offer researchers and industry with the most up-to-date tools for developing the next generation of materials and products.
Mining, space, advanced manufacturing, energy, defense, quantum devices, and other R&D are welcome to apply to use Australia’s first $2.4 million Photoemission Electron Microscope (PEEM), which was recently installed at the Flinders Microscopy and Microanalysis lab in Bedford Park.
Professor Robert Saint, Flinders University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), said the facility can examine structural, morphological, electrical, and chemical aspects of a wide range of materials to nanometre resolutions.
“This Microscopy Australia facility, co-funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, is part of an extensive, sophisticated plan to support innovation and advancement in Australia’s challenging research future,” says Professor Saint.
Co-funded by Flinders University, the South Australian State Government, and the Federal Government under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, the new PEEM is part of a South Australian and national network of research facilities known as Microscopy Australia.
It will be critical in advancing biofuels research and the hydrogen energy industry, as well as assisting local businesses like Tonsley-based Micro-X in developing their next generation of high-tech products and services.
“This amazing new facility is designed for current and future Australian research priorities across many industries, which can benefit from using this diverse and powerful technique,” says Flinders Microscopy and Microanalysis director Professor Sarah Harmer.
