User Fees Pricelist – FY 2027 (effective July 1, 2026)

The following hourly rates apply to regular business hours (8 am – 5 pm weekdays). Rates subject to change per RFS approval.

All rates in the table below on a "per hour" basis

Make sure to read note 3 at the bottom of the page to learn about automated sessions! Charges are capped for automated overnight and weekend sessions! Ask EMC staff members for more details.

The price list above only includes equipment time. If staff assistance is required, staff time (see table below) will be added to the equipment time.

Researchers wishing to become independent users on the sectioning equipment must reach out to EMC staff to schedule training. Access to the microtomes will be granted only after the users have demonstrated proper operation of the equipment. Microtome knives must be provided by researchers for independent use.

The EMC will not be training users on TEM sample preparation at this time, but users are encouraged to reach out to EMC staff for advice and preparation protocols if they wish to prepare the samples on their own before sectioning.

The process of preparing high-quality TEM lamellae is not always straightforward and often requires several iterations to create a solid preparation protocol. Researchers aiming to image new types of samples should expect additional preparation time and costs associated with the development of this protocol. Please reach out to the EMC staff to discuss your project before beginning your experiment.

• Trained users can reserve instruments no more than three weeks ahead of time. Each instrument has a reservation limit of 5 hours per day and 20 hours within the three-week period. These limits do not apply during nights and weekends. Exceptions can be made only after consulting with EMC staff.
• Trained users can cancel scheduled sessions up to 24 hours before the start time without incurring any fees.
• To cancel a session within 24 hours of the start time, users must contact EMC staff. If staff is notified before 4 pm on the business day prior to the session, a fee equivalent to 1 hour of the unassisted rate for the booked equipment will be charged. After this deadline, the full session fee will apply.
• No-shows, where the user does not come to the EMC to use the reserved equipment, will be charged for the entire session.
• Assisted sessions (including training sessions) may be canceled if the user is not present in the lab within 15 minutes of the agreed start time; in this case, the full session will still be charged. If the session starts late, the full planned time will be charged.

• Sessions that end early (whether due to completing work faster than expected or issues with the sample) will not typically incur penalties; only the time used will be billed, assuming that this flexibility is used respectfully and infrequently. We encourage users to notify staff beforehand if an early finish is anticipated.

  We understand that various factors, such as family emergencies or problematic samples, can result in the need to cancel reserved time. If you anticipate that a challenging sample might lead to a session cancellation or a shortened session, please contact the EMC staff in advance (more than 24 hours ahead) so that we can arrange for another user to fill the slot if needed. As long as users communicate in good faith, no penalty will be applied.

To facilitate training, a fixed number of user hours will be billed at the unassisted rate for each instrument (TBD by EMC), except for Life Sciences sample preparation. Re-training after a long period of user inactivity will be charged at the assisted rate. Practice specimens provided by the EMC will be used in the initial phase of training, after which the user's samples may be utilized.

For after-hours & weekend use by approved, experienced University of Kentucky operators only, the (unassisted) hourly rates for UK internal use will be lowered: see rates in tables above. After-hours and weekend access is also possible for non UK users; please contact the EMC staff for details.

The EMC staff will provide training for external users, and/or provide services by performing the characterization work and, if necessary, specimen preparation. See the pricing chart for external users. In some cases a valid PO number is required before analysis can be scheduled. In such cases it is best to send the PO to the EMC staff directly by email. Typically, external users are not allowed to access the instruments unattended after normal working hours. The information below is required before analysis can start:

• Purchase order
• Address where invoice is to be sent
• Contact person in your business office who will handle this invoice
• Your own contact information

For industrial users who require confidentiality and intellectual property agreements, please contact the EMC staff directly.

External Users Payment
Payment by check or wire transfer only (no credit card). Payment is due within 30 days of invoicing (Net 30).

¹HeliScan microCT operation modes
Two operation modes are available on the HeliScan microCT. The highest achievable resolutions, expressed as voxel size, are approximately 800 nm for the tungsten source and approximately 400 nm for the lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) source. The HeliScan microCT is typically configured with the tungsten filament. Switching between sources requires significant equipment re-calibration; therefore, access to LaB6 capabilities may be available only after a sufficient number of scans have been planned by multiple users, as determined by EMC staff.

²Automated sessions
Automated sessions are defined as sessions, or portions of sessions, longer than 30 minutes during which the equipment performs an analysis without operator input (long unattended runs). Several EMC instruments are equipped with automated modes (TEM or FIB-SEM tomography, large area EDS scans, etc) or are designed to run analyses automatically after the operator has set up the experiment by loading the sample(s) and defining the experimental parameters (microCT, XRD, XRF, XPS, SAXS, BIB). These sessions are eligible to be billed at a reduced rate equal to the after-hours rate for that instrument.

To help users anticipate charges, the fixed setup fees below will be applied to each automated session. Automated analysis time will then be charged separately at the automated rate.

• microCT, XRD, XRF, BIB: 0.5 hours of independent/assisted rate
• XPS: 0.75 hours of independent/assisted rate
• SAXS: 1 hour of independent/assisted rate

³Capped charges for unattended overnight/weekend acquisitions
Available on select instruments and subject to EMC staff approval and calendar availability. For each individual session, charges at the automated rate are capped as follows:

• EMs, XPS, XRD, XRF and SAXS: 5 hrs (overnight) or 10 hrs (weekend)
• microCT: 8 hrs (overnight) or 20 hrs (weekend)
• JEOL BIB (broad ion beam, cross-section polisher): capped at 5 hrs

⁴Sample preparation equipment
Sample preparation equipment is organized into the following categories:

• Type A: currently not available 
• Type B: Leica EM ACE600 carbon & sputter coater will be charged at the rates indicated in the table on a per-run basis. Metallography equipment (low speed precision saw, grinder/polishers, compound microscope, etc.) will be charged on a per-hour basis. The metallography fee will be waived for preparation of samples that will be characterized using EMC equipment.