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Introduction

Description and A Brief History

Technology Components and Current Trends

Major Players

REM Applications

Advantages and Potentials

Disadvantages

Future of REM

Sites of Interest

It is well known that the microstructure of matters down to the atomic level provided by electron microscopy (EM) holds the ultimate answers to their behaviors in macro-world. Today the results from EM studies are used not only as probes for better understanding of materials, but also as means to validate the state-of-the-art processing technologies in creating new products that have tremendously improved the quality of our life. Traditionally, EM experiment is done in specialized laboratories by highly trained specialists, who control the EM via a set of knobs and buttons on the control panel. Today with the advent of remote electron microscopy (REM), the experiment can be done anywhere with a computer connected to the centralized EM facilities via the Internet. This executive summary presents a brief description of REM technology, potential applications, its advantages and disadvantages and emerging trends.

REMs have also been referred to as telepresence microscopy (TPM) and telemicroscopy. The REM is made possible by connecting server sites with remote user sites. The server sites own a single or multiple electron microscopes, which are controlled digitally with server computers. The users at the remote sites are typically from industries or academia, who can conduct EM experiments by accessing the equipment located at the server sites via Internet.

Prior to the REM experiments, samples prepared by the remote users were sent to the server sites. Personnel in the server site provide assistance to the remote users by loading pre-prepared samples into the equipment and perform necessary manual intervention to ensure the smooth execution of the experiments. The person assisting the experiment sometimes is the collaborator of the experiments who will also provide input and make decisions, if necessary, on the direction of the experimentation. In addition, researchers from locations other than server and user sites can join the experiment as collaborators.

The initial design and demonstration of the remote operation of electron microscope in the US was presented in 1995 at the Argonne National Laboratory via the Internet with limited capabilities. A similar project was also initiated in the same year by a group of British researchers at Cambridge University in UK. Since then, the REM technology has progressed rapidly due to the development of the information super highway. Today the REM can be routinely used to perform not only basic but also advanced, one-of-the-kind experiment, such as in-situ study of chemical reactions.

REM Technology Components and Current Trends

Three groups of key technologies are interactive controls, interactive communication and interactive data analysis.

In order to make REM possible; the instrument has to be controlled digitally by computers at both the server and user sites. The control at the server sites is accomplished by creating "digital agents" simulating functions of knobs and buttons on the instrument control panel. This part of the technology has been developed over the last two decades, relying on TCPIP protocol and proprietary customer interfaces based on a site-specific platform. The control at the remote user sites is achieved by Internet communication, where the technologies for Internet and WWW are leveraged. Here, JAVA appears to be the standard script to use since it is platform independent. The trend now is to develop a uniform architecture model that will standardize the user interface to a basic set of operations common to instruments in all facilities.

Communications between the user and server sites, and with other interested parties are crucial to the success of REM experiment. Here, the use of multimedia such as e-mail and Internet video conferencing tools is used to facilitate such communication. The current trend is to develop a platform independent (PC, Mac, Unix) multicast, audio/video interactive conference capability, which can be achieved by leveraging information technologies that are developed for other applications.

In order to allow real time extraction of microstructural information from imaging data, image processing/analysis tools on-line are needed for data interpretation. Various commercial and proprietary packages have been developed for real-time data processing in the past two decades; the trend now is to standardize these packages into a common architecture. In addition, the transparency between the standardized packages with other electronic resources is necessary for data interpretation is also important.

The mainstream of REM players comes from the DOE sponsored Materials Micro-Characterization Collaboratory (MMC), established in 1996 as a pilot project under the initiative of DOE2000. MMC members include Argonne National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Institute of Standard and Technology , and DOE funded Microscopy center at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Six manufactures of microscopes and control systems, Philips, JEOL, Hitachi, R. J .Lee Group, Gatan , and EmiSpec are also contributing members.

Other significant players also actively involved in the REM development are: University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Cambridge University at UK; Leo Electron Microscope, Inc.; Center for Solid State Science, Arizona State University; National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research at University of California at San Diego; California State University Hayward.

When REM was first developed, it was mainly used as means of reducing time and cost for traveling by researchers who have to leverage million-dollar equipment located elsewhere. However, due to the advancement of information technology, the development of REM has progressed far exceeding its original scope. In reality, REM has become a way to revolutionize the way scientific experiments will be conducted in the future, as other sophisticated testing technologies follow suit. Currently REM has been used in collaborated R&D and classroom teaching, and will soon be made available for general laboratory service applications.

The participating MMC members not only joined the force in developing REM but also are benefited from collaborated R&D efforts due to instrument and knowledge sharing made available via REM. Examples include the focused collaborative research on catalysts used to control emissions from automobiles and diesel trucks, and on interfaces between substrates and coatings designed to protect them against corrosion.

REM has presented real opportunities to bring EM experiments into ordinary classrooms, even for schools who cannot afford the real equipment. There, students can virtually operate EM with a keyboard and a mouse. For example, high school students in the West Greene School District in southwestern Pennsylvania have learned how to operate EM in cyberspace with microscopes at R. J. Group. REM has also enabled the learning of the operation of the one-of-a-kind high temperature EM located at Oak-Ridge National Laboratory for students at Lehigh University.

REM technology has made once impossible scientific experiments for many organizations possible. Already some organizations have started to utilize this capability in attempt to develop new products that lead to competitive advantages. With several logistic issues resolved, such as security and protocol standardization, it is possible for REM to be made available to virtually every organization that has a need for electron microscopy experiment.

The use of REM to assist in scientific research and product R&D is a low cost solution alternative to owning an electron microscope. Instead of spending millions of dollars in acquiring and maintaining the equipment, organizations will be able to gain access to a wider variety of microscopes at a much lower cost. At present, the cost for operating a "virtual" electron microscope ranges from none to a few hundred dollars per hour.

REM has already simplified the process for collaborated research among scientists. Not only the time and cost for traveling are reduced, but also a complicated experiment will be able to be conducted by a larger group of scientists since the experiment is done in cyberspace. The use of common based platform and state-of-art interactive communication tools can also contribute to more speedy and broader scope of collaborations.

With REM, once was sacred EM experiment can be demonstrated to public on a personal computer. The use of REM for classroom education, especially starting from high school, will improve the literacy of the public in the power of the state-of-art EM technology. This increased awareness among the next generation workforce will more widely promote applications of the technology, which will in turn accelerate the advancement of science and technology.

Traditionally, the person physically operating the microscope had to demonstrate that he or she is properly trained to minimize the possibility of misuse of the equipment. With the remote access, however, such a tightly controlled screening process is more difficult to reinforce. One proposed solution is the user authentication, such as the ones used in E-Commerce applications. Qualified users need to be certified prior to operating REM. Some of the authentication methods being considered include smart cards and tokens, X.509 certificates, biometrics and S-key one-time password.

The current multi-form, non-standardized "digital agent" and communication protocols will introduce difficulties for remote users, especially for those who wish to access multiple REM facilities. Thus, in order for REM to become a broadly used means for R&D, various customer interfaces must be replaced by a standardized interface common to all facilities. The effort in protocol standardization has been initiated by MCC and several EM manufacturers and independent service laboratories.

Although the development of REM is still at a very young age, further development and expansion of technology and applications will likely take off. In the industry segment, the growing interest will spin from increased awareness of close relationships between the microscopic structure and macroscopic properties of material, and from the need for low-cost solutions in having analyses performed. In education, interest in bringing the state-of-the-art technology into the classroom will likely grow, in which REM will certainly provide a vital role. In scientific research, REM presents a way of enhancing collaborations, which will result in the more efficient development and deployment of enabling technologies.

To learn more about remote electron microscopy and to have a demonstration session, please visit:

http://www.ms.ornl.gov/htmlhome/mauc/MAGRem.html 

http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~bcb/remote1.htm

http://www.telemicroscopy.org

http://wwl.itg.uiuc.edu/TEM

http://tpm.amc.anl.gov

http://www.mwrn.com/leo/press/netsempr.htm

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