Services Offered:

• Digital Optical Microscopy - view examples.
• Live Video Digital Microscopy
• Scanning Electron Microscopy
• Xray and Backscatter Microanalysis
  

Inquiries and requests for quotations can be sent to Marco Kaltofen, P.E.
Boston Chemical Data Corp., 2 Summer Street Suite 14 Natick, MA 01760
Call at: (508) 651-1661. Fax to: (847) 589-5831

Digital Optical Microscopy provides an electronic or hard copy record of true-color digital micrographs. Magnifications of up to 5000 times are available. The technology allows users to identify the sources of hazardous materials in soil, dust, air, and waste samples.

Some of the artifacts visible by this technique include textile or mineral fibers, fly ashes, paint chips, combustion by-products, metal and explosion fragment, crystal structures, and ultraviolet fluorescent minerals.

This technique is very useful for determining if specific waste generator is responsible for environmental contaminants found in the environment or in homes.

Live Video Digital Microscopy allows you to produce a Mac or Windows compatible video file of any optical micrograph. Videos allow you to add micrographs to presentations, perform zooms, pans, and show focal plane movements of objects. A video generally gives a better presentation of views of multiple artifacts in a sample. It can also allow you to display live biological specimens and chemical reactions.

Videos can be produced in true-color darkfield or lightfield modes, or by hard or soft ultraviolet backlighting. Videos, like all digital micrographs, can be saved on disks or hard drives and they can be emailed.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) yields a much greater level of detail and a wider focal plane. This allows you to make black and white photographs of small three dimensional objects. Resolution is about 1 to 2 microns. (millionths of a meter)

Since electrons rather than light are used to visualize objects, the true colors seen in digital optical microscopy are not available.

Xray and Backscatter Microanalysis is one of the most important advantages of using SEM. This technique allows a realtime elemental analysis of the object in view or of the entire field. All elements of atomic number greater than 4 (hydrogen through beryllium are not detectable) can be analyzed.

Data can be provided as Xray spectra or as data tables based on % by weight. This technique is perfect for analyzing and tracking airborne fallout contaminants, mixtures of wastes, soils, sludges, fly ashes, corrosion by-products, and industrial materials.