The Center for Microanalysis of Materials

Abstract

“Excuse me,” said a graduate student that I’ve not seen before, “I’d like to get some time on the Auger.”

“Fine” I reply, “If you are going to need a lot of time, Nancy will train you so that you can use the machine yourself. If it’s only a small project, she’ll work with you. In either case, see Nancy to get a session scheduled.”

Shaking off the last remnants of sleep, I realize that I’ve forgotten the most important question, “Oh, just a minute …. Why? … I mean, what do you want to find out?”

And so begins a discussion which leads to the recommendation that, instead of Auger spectroscopy, the student use a combination of SIMS and STEM. We schedule time appropriately.