Scientists at PKU will use the TIMA-X system for research into fundamental geology. Their work will provide valuable insights into the origins of our planet and the life it has sustained. The addition of the TIMA-X to their instrumental arsenal will help them push for higher international rankings.
The TESCAN TIMA-X is the world’s most advanced automated mineralogy system. It is designed specifically for rapid quantitative analysis of geological, mineralogical, petrographic and metallurgical samples. The PKU system is a top of the line instrument based on a Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM) and four EDX detectors that seamlessly integrate with the software. By combining BSE and EDX data, it can identify minerals and create mineral images that are analyzed to yield mineral concentrations, locate important minerals and define mineral texture properties that are fundamental to geological research. The data generated by the TIMA-X can be correlated with other geological tools resulting in a more comprehensive analysis.
As the top university geological department in a country with vast minerals wealth, the TIMA-X is suitably located at PKU. Under the guidance of Professor Zhang Bo, the TIMA-X will be used largely for postgraduate research as well as introducing undergraduate students to a technology which can have major benefits in many branches of geology.
Prof. Zhang was excited to see how the TIMA-X could be applied to geological thin sections and was extremely positive about how it will be used for important research projects in the future. Following advanced training on operation and geological interpretation from TESCAN’s resident geologist Jakub Výravský, Prof. Zhang’s team of postgraduate students were very enthusiastic about how they could accelerate their own research projects with the new instrument.
TESCAN’s TIMA Business Development Manager Paul Gottlieb said, “The installation of a TIMA-X at the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University is a major advance and takes TIMA-X technology to a new level for use in a wide range of fundamental applications in pure rather than applied geological research at a World ranking university. Their applications involve the integration of TIMA-X data with other geological data and procedures”.