Switzerland’s first SPARC Compact CL system

Friday, 19.06.2026

Switzerland’s first SPARC Compact CL system – now in use at the University of Lausanne.

The Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences (FGSE) is unique in Switzerland: it is dedicated to researching natural and anthropogenic changes to our planet, particularly in Alpine regions and urban centres. In doing so, it brings together various geoscience disciplines to understand the processes that shape our environment and landscapes.

With the recently installed SPARC Compact cathodoluminescence (CL) system, integrated into a ZEISS Gemini scanning electron microscope, researchers at the Institute of Earth Sciences in particular now have access to new analytical capabilities. Minerals store information about their origin and development in their chemical composition and crystalline structure.
CL analysis makes these properties visible and allows valuable conclusions to be drawn about the formation history of rocks. The data obtained can also make an important contribution to the dating of minerals.

By combining the SPARC Compact CL system with the ZEISS Gemini SEM, this information can be captured at high spatial resolution and directly linked to the electron microscope images. This opens up new possibilities for investigating the composition and formation of geological materials in even greater detail.

We are delighted to have completed Switzerland’s first SPARC Compact CL installation with this project.

Many thanks to Goran Anjic, Pierre Vonlanthen and the whole team in Lausanne for their trust and excellent cooperation. We look forward to seeing what new insights into the formation and evolution of geological materials will be gained with this system in the future.