Research in minerals and energy using the IMS 1280 ion microprobe, an advanced isotopic microbeam technology for use in geoscience research.
Established in 2009, the Canadian Centre for Isotopic Microanalysis (CCIM) offers researchers in academia, government and industry access to the IMS 1280 ion microprobe, one of the most advanced isotopic microbeam technologies in the geosciences. CCIM’s research focuses on mineral and energy resources but also extends to topics such as biogeochemistry and U-Pb geochronology. The isotopes of inorganic and biologically precipitated minerals preserve a wealth of information on topics such as how diamonds form in the Earth’s mantle, the cementation of oil-bearing rocks, the age of rocks comprising the Canadian land mass and the ecology of fish species, to name a few.
Microanalyses of light stable isotopes (H/ Li/ B/ C/ N/ O/ Mg/ Si/ S/ Cl), radioactive and radiogenic isotopes (U/ Th/ Pb) and trace elements (e.g. rare earth elements) in minerals
- Energy
- Mining, minerals and metals
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment |
|---|---|
| Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Lab | Cameca IMS 1280 ion microprobe |
| Scanning Electron Microscope | Carl Zeiss EVO15 with secondary electron and backscattered electron detectors, along with an Oxford Instruments Inca EDS/EBSD system, a Robinson wide-spectrum cathodoluminescence (CL) detector and a Gatan Chroma CL detector |