Mar 27th 2017 – Instrumentation Updates

With the support of Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development (ORIED), Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN) and several faculty members from COE, AIF will house a new Asylum AFM and a Horiba Raman Microscope, as well as retractable STEM and DBS detectors in our FEI Quanta FIB-SEM instrument.

Asylum AFM

This Asylum AFM includes MFP-3D head, XY scanner  and a base. The MFP-3D head offers low noise and precise measurements of the cantilever position for accurate force and topography measurement. The XY-scanner provides flat scans and the ability to accurately zoom and offset with one mouse click. The 3D base offers three configurations for illuminating and viewing samples: top view for opaque samples, bottom view for transparent samples and dual view for both viewing options.

Horiba Raman Microscope

This XploRA PLUS Confocal Raman Microscope includes integrated imaging spectrometer with 4 gratings mounted on motorized turret for full resolution, range and coverage as well as low noise full range CCD detector. It comes with motorized computer controlled 6 position ND filter wheel, confocal pinhole, entrance slit and coupling optics, laser and filter selection. The instrument includes 532 nm and 785 nm Raman excitation laser sources. It offers fast confocal imaging, automated laser wavelength switching. It provides sample identification and chemical imaging on a microscopic scale.

Retractable Detectors on FEI Quanta

Retractable Annular STEM detector enables scanning transmission imaging in bright field, dark field and high-angle dark field modes. The detector includes a special sample holder that can hold up to 6 TEM grids and is compatible with the holder used in FEI dual beams for thin sample preparations.

Retractable Directional Back-scattered (DBS) detectors features four concentric ring segments that enable separate detection of electrons emitted at different angles. This detector is an ultra-sensitive, Solid State (SS) detector which is sensitive to emitted electrons from 500 V onwards. Using the option beam deceleration, images with beam landing energies down to 50  V are possible. This detector is mounted on a software-controlled retractable arm and allows simultaneous EDS spectra acquisition for WD ≥ 10 mm.