Sample preparation

Our Sample Preparation facilities provide the essential foundation for high-precision experimental research, offering specialized workflows for geological, paleontological, and synthetic materials. We offer a comprehensive suite of tools for the mechanical processing of geomaterials, including high-stability rock coring, precision cylindrical grinding for complex 'dogbone' geometries, and large-scale cutting. Furthermore, our laboratories facilitate the synthesis and thermal treatment of melts and minerals at temperatures up to 1700°C, alongside dedicated micropaleontological 'sludge' labs for the chemical and mechanical extraction of microfossils. These facilities ensure that all specimens—whether for mechanical testing, isotopic analysis, or taxonomic study—are prepared to the highest standards of accuracy and reproducibility.

Box/Tube Melting Furnaces

Room: C U126, C 317, C 326, C 323
Contact: Ulrich Küppers, Anthony Lamur, Jackie Kendrick
Description: Various box and tube furnaces from Carbolite, Nabatherm, Severn Thermal Solutions etc. are available for thermal treatment, melting, sintering, alteration and healing of melts, magmas and glasses in different volumes and geometries at up to 1300°C. Several are equipped with sapphire windows for direct observation

Room C330

Contact: Werner Ertel-Ingrisch

We also have very high-temperature Nabertherm box furnaces, operating up to 1700 °C, and of variable sizes (up to ca. 35L), to synthesise melts, glasses and rocks in air. We also have a setup to synthesise samples under controlled atmospheric chemistries (in the gas-mixing lab).

Rock Coring

room: C U128
Contact: Ulrich Küppers, Bettina Scheu, Jackie Kendrick

Two rock corers are available for various sample preparation needs. A fixed pillar drill provides high stability and superior torque for coring dense or tough samples. A frame-mounted portable corer offers greater versatility for drill penetration depth. Both corers accommodate drill bits up to 80mm diameter.

Rock Cutting

Room: C U128
Contact: Ulrich Küppers, Bettina Scheu

Saws of various sizes are available for the preparation of rock specimens. The largest saw can accommodate blocks up to 40kg, whilst smaller saws for precision cutting of parallel faces of rock cores for experimentation, or flat surfaces for thin section preparation are also available.

Rock Grinding

room: C U131
contact: Ulrich Küppers, Bettina Scheu, Jackie Kendrick

Both a modified lathe with diamond grinding wheel, and a precision cylindrical grinder facilitate precise preparation of sample cores. The lathe is designed for producing high-accuracy plane-parallel ends to sample cores up to D28mm. The cylindrical grinder can be used for producing parallel ends as well as for producing very-high precision diameter specimens or more complex geometries (e.g. “dogbone” specimens for tensile testing) up to D45mm.

Sludge lab - (Micro)paleontological Preparation

Room
Contact person
Access regulations: Registration required!
Any stays and activities require prior instruction (on record). Without this requirement, staying and working in the laboratory is prohibited!
Opening hours: Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Description: The systematic classification of small fossil organisms is made considerably easier by a three-dimensional approach. For this it is necessary to free the microfossil from the mineral compound of the sediment. This can be done through various work steps. After the samples have been mechanically crushed, we can uncover fossils in the sludge laboratory with water or chemical treatment (e.g. hydrogen peroxide). When the samples have been broken down into their mineral components, they are slurried in sieves with different mesh sizes (1mm - 64 µm) under running water.
After the slurry process, the individual samples are dried in a drying cabinet (usually at 40°C). Then further palaeontological processing, such as taxonomy, isotope chemistry and documentation, can take place.
The laboratory serves purely for research and teaching purposes and is used by students, doctoral candidates and scientific staff in paleontology to carry out their research.
Equipment: 4 blowdown devices with sludge collecting basins
Sieves with different mesh sizes
Fume hoodHeat drying cabinet with timer
Ultrasonic unit - Small and large

Geohistology

Raum: A U132 Luisenstrasse 37
Kontakt: Nora Dotzler
Access regulations
Geräte: fully automated rotary microtome (Leica RM2255)

Our histology facility provides specialized procedures for processing biological samples and hard substances for fluorenscence microscopy. For investigations at the cellular level, we utilize a fully automated rotary microtome (Leica RM2255). This device produces sections of 1 to 10 µm from tissues embedded in paraffin or Technovit. To protect the precision blades, mineralized components such as carbonate or silicate skeletons are decalcified prior to sectioning.

Raum: A U132 Luisenstrasse 37
Kontakt: Nora Dotzler
Access regulations
Geräte: saw microtome (Leica SP1600) and histological staining facilities

To visualize 3D skeletal structures in hard materials like corals or sponges, we employ a saw microtome (Leica SP1600). Using diamond-coated blades, it creates 50 to 400 µm thick sections from samples embedded in synthetic resin (LR White). Finally, a selection of specific dyes and reagents is available to contrast target tissues and cellular structures for detailed microscopic analysis.

High-precision balances

: High-precision balances
Room: C345B C318
Contact: Adriana Gerz
Access: trained users only