Public Opened Internet Electron Microscopy in Educational Field

Abstract

Public Opened Internet Electron Microscopy (POIT-EM) has successfully been developed in National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba , Japan. POIT-EM consists of a remote controllable scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM) which can be controlled from client terminals through the Internet. Real-time observation and analysis of various kinds of samples can be performed from anywhere in the world. Previous systems have been constructed for ultra-high voltage microscopes and some results with prototype devices have been reported 1-4 . Unlike these systems, POIT-EM system is not only for research purposes but also for young people education purpose. This paper describes a current status and development plan of POIT-EM at NIMS in Japan.POIT-EM was developed in 2001 and it has preliminary been run at National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (MIRAIKAN) at Daiba in Tokyo. Our statistic data revealed that more than half of the users, out of over 1,000 users, were children and students under 20 years old. This implies that POIT-EM is quite effective for science education. From last autumn, we started cooperation with Super Science High schools (SSHs) which is a project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, to give higher priority to science education to designated high schools. SSHs are expected to make their best efforts on developing effective science curriculums and to give better education to train promising scientists, in cooperation with national institutes and universities.Because the network environment of SSHs varies from asymmetric digital subscriptor line (ADSL) to private lines and from bandwidths of 1.5Mbps to 100Mbps, we needed to develop a new network system to cope with various network environments. Fig.1 represents our network system of POIT-SEM. Two Windows-based PC servers (SEM PC and EDS PC) carry out the remote control and image data transfer. A video server outputs SEM images.A virtual private network (VPN) broadband router and an authentication server check users with one time password and protect the system from illegal users. The client console also consists of Windows XP PC, two displays, a printer, a SEM control knob set and a token device. Every operation necessary for the SEM observation can be performed through the Internet; turning-on high voltage and changing magnification, focus, brightness and contrast (Fig. 2). We did connection test of the system though NIMS's LAN, ADSL, private lines and optical fiber cables. Connections with each environment were confirmed, though the data transfer rate varies depending on the client-side bandwidth.We have successfully installed POIT-EM client at two SSHs in October 2003. For the general use at science classes and science clubs, students send SEM samples to NIMS , our technicians setup them in the specimen chamber and the students observe their samples from the client PCs, controlling the SEM on their own. We will continue public service based on educational...

Development and Application of an Internet Electron Microscopy System for the Outreach Program in Japan

“…We have created a remote operation electron microscopy system based on Web-SEM in the National Institute for Materials Science~NIMS!, Tsukuba, Japan, and have run it for 5 years~Furuya et , 2005Tameike et al, 2004!. This system, called the Internet Electron Microscopy System IT-EM!, is intended to contribute mainly to scientific education but is also useful for research collaboration. Because it focuses principally on practical use, the convenience of remote operation and security of the sessions are the top priority.…”