Support for synchrotron projects

IPANEMA, a science and technology interface, can accompany your synchrotron project by helping, when needed, with the drafting of requests for beam time, sample preparation, development or adaptation of experimental setups in conjunction with beamlines, data collection, and/or data analysis.

At present, IPANEMA’s support with research on ancient materials covers a few days of synchrotron analysis. Beam time requests must form the basis of a project submitted during a call for projects made every six months.

- To contact us, consult the group presentation page or send an email to ipanema[at]synchrotron-soleil.fr.

- To submit a synchrotron project:

1. Consult the SOLEIL synchrotron list of beamlines,
2. Go to SUNset, the user email interface,
3. Choose the CP6 committee program,
4. If you are a European (non-French) user, consult the support for European users (CHARISMA) page

Soon, with the opening of the platform building expected in 2013, IPANEMA will be able to accommodate scientists for periods of up to three years. IPANEMA support will include training in analytical methods, their implementation and adaptation or the development of new concepts, processing and data analysis, up to the exploitation of results. Access methods will be adapted, in particular for synchrotron studies of corpus or collections of ancient materials.

The ancient materials preparation room is a laboratory reserved for the following subjects: archeology, paleontology, ancient sites and conservation science. Eventually, its equipment will be available as part of the IPANEMA platform.

This laboratory is divided into two areas: one area for sample preparation and one for electron and infrared microscopy. This room and its equipment have been set up to meet the needs of users of ancient materials for feasibility studies, the preparation and the monitoring of their experiments on the beamlines. This is also where we are developing our own research.

Preparation area

Microscopy area

 Sample preparation | Scanning electron microscopy | Infrared spectroscopy

These instruments are available to all users who have a synchrotron project accepted by CP6, or wishing to carry out sample preparation feasibility trials. To obtain access to these instruments (by means of named identity badges), you are asked to:

1. Declare your intention to use the laboratory, at the same time as the request for beam time through SUN set,
2. Confirm your request for access on line on SUN set (in "Experiment Management" section, under "Support laboratory access") and specify your needs at least 1 month before your programmed beam time.

For access outside SOLEIL synchrotron beam time, please write to us at ipanema[at]synchrotron-soleil.fr.

Several instruments for the mechanical preparation of samples are available, from centimeter sample cutting to that of thin sections a few tens of nanometers thick. Inclusion and polishing methods can also be developed. An optical microscope and an SLR digital camera are available for initial characterization and data recording.

Vacuum impregnation chamber		Primary vacuum, inclusion in all types of resins
Horizontal diamond wire saw		From a few hundred microns up to a centimeter, for all kinds of material.
Polisher		Semi-automatic pre-polishing and polishing up to 1/4 μm.
Grinder		Controlled removal of material, for samples up to an inch in diameter
Automated sample preparation system		For cutting, milling/resurfacing, polishing millimeter-thick samples. Sample holder compatible with the ultramicrotome and with the electron and infrared microscopes.
Ultramicrotome		Cuts thin and semi-thin [40 nm - 2 microns] sections up to a few hundred microns in size.
Evaporator		Ultra-high C or Au deposition
Optical and binocular microscope		Reflection, transmission, polarization, fluorescence. 5x, 10x, 20x, 50x
Spectrocolorimeter		Lab colorimetric and spectral measurements, [400-800] nm, without contact (working distance 80 mm) on surfaces with diameters of 1, 2, 4 or 7 mm
Digital SLR camera		Macro lens. Stand with lighting.
Instrumentation and tools for mechanics and electronics

This instrument is available to all CP6 users in the context of collaborations and to scientists staying on the IPANEMA platform. Please contact Marie-Angélique Languille (marie-angelique.languille[at]synchrotron-soleil.fr) for all questions relating to the scanning electron microscope.
The scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an X-ray microanalysis system has been set-up jointly by IPANEMA and the Experiments Division at SOLEIL.

Main features of FEG-SEM

Secondary electron imaging resolution on Au/C at 20 kV with In –lens detector: 1 nm.
Highest resolution measured by SDD 30 mm² detector: 126.5 eV on K Mn at 20 kcps. 

Bibliography (shortly on line)

FEG-SEM
Pressure-controlled SEM
EDS analysis - quantification models

This instrument is available to all CP6 users in the context of collaborations and to scientists staying on the IPANEMA platform. Please contact Laurianne Robinet (laurianne.robinet[at]synchrotron-soleil.fr) for all questions relating to infrared spectroscopy.

Main characteristics of infrared imaging microscope