Device equipment

The most important instrumental equipment

For the list and characteristics of all our instruments are click here,

Determination of the chemical composition

• ELEMENT 2 (ThermoFisher Scientific) high-resolution magnetic sector ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometer) with the New Wave UP213 laser ablation system.
• IRIS Agilent 5100 SVDV ICP-OES (2014).
• Advanced mercury analysers used for the analyses of mercury contents in solid and liquid samples. Ultra-high sensitivity (up to 0.X nanogram Hg) is reached.
• TESCAN VEGA3XMU scanning electron microscope (SEM) is an SEM of a variable pressure construction. It allows observation and analyses of not only carbon-coated or gold-sputtered materials but also of uncoated specimens including biological materials.
• CAMECA SX-100 electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) equipped with four spectrometers and both secondary and back-scattered electron detectors is used mainly for non-destructive quantitative analysis of solid-state materials on the micrometer scale.
• Clean chemical laboratory.

Phase analyses

• Bruker D-8 DISCOVER X-ray powder diffractometer is a multi-purpose powder X-ray diffraction instrument with a variable measuring radius designed to study powder samples or solid polycrystalline samples (polished sections, thin sections, rock chips etc.).
• Philips X'Pert PX 3020 X-ray powder diffractometer is a compact powder X-ray diffraction unit for routine analytical work.

Magnetic and physical properties of rocks

• MAVACS Magnetic Vacuum Control System with the triaxial HELICOS Helmholz Induction Coil System, ROCOMA Rotating Coil Magnetometer and ICCON Induction Coil Control Unit is a self-contained automatic system creating a limited non-magnetic space for paleomagnetic investigations. For example, thermal demagnetization of remanent magnetization is performed in an oven located in the center of the MAVACS system.
• 2G 755 4K Superconducting Rock Magnetometer (SRM) with a 2G800 Automatic Sample Handler System and Applied Physics Systems 581 DC SQUID System is a very sensitive, liquid helium-free measurement system for determining the intensity and direction of natural remanent magnetization and for conducting alternating field demagnetization of remanent magnetization.
• AGICO MFK1-FA Kappabridge is the most sensitive laboratory instrument for measuring of magnetic susceptibility and its anisotropy.
• MMPM10 Magnetic Measurements Pulse Magnetiser is a high-field instrument for creating isothermal remanent magnetization.
• High-pressure chamber is a unique device developed to study elastic anisotropy of rocks under high hydrostatic pressure on spherical samples.

Microscopic methods

• OLYMPUS BX51 Optical polarizing microscope with the DP 70 digital camera and specialized QuickPHOTO software and a Deep Focus module is used for a detailed study of thin sections (in transmitted light) and polished sections (in reflected light).
• OLYMPUS SZX 16 Optical binocular microscope with the CANON digital photocamera and specialized QuickPHOTO Micro software and a Deep Focus module is used for the documentation of samples, separation of sub-samples for other methods and, of course,, for imaging samples and details for publications.
• ZEISS Imager. M1m Microscope connected to two monitors of a computer for a fission track analysis (FTA).