Electron scanning microscope
Using Electron scanning microscope
Turning on the machine
Firstly we are going to turn on the power, on the front side of the machine.
Turn the main power key momentarily to start position.
Wait for the machine to heat up this can take a minute or two.
Then turn on the computer.
Wait for the computer to boot.
Turning on the software
Click on the SEM Main Menu shortcut.
Wait for the software to start and click yes to 2 weird popup notifications.
Venting the vacuum chamber
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Insert or extract the sample holder
Obs. Wear gloves and be super careful while handling the sample holder and having the door to the vacuum chamber open!
Keep it dust free and as clean as possible. That means that you do not open the door if your in a dusty environment ect. woodworking area. If you feel like sneezing or if you just vacuumed the room without waiting for the dust to settle.
Open the lock on the vacuum chamber door and the door should slide open easily. Do not use force!
Insert the sample holder and close the door
Be extra careful when sliding the sample holder into the groove in the sample manipulator.
Do not touch the cone coming from the top and be careful not bumping into anything with the sample holder.
The sample holder slides from the back into the groove in the manipulation arm. It should not be forced. It fits only from one way.
Close the door and the lock on the vacuum chamber door.
Adjusting the Focus.
1. Pressing COARSE over the FOCUS knob to do rapid focus and the pressing it again to do fine adjustments. .Use the FOCUS knob on the remote to get the image as focused at posible.
2. You can move the sample holder around by pressing the X/Y button.
And using the Joystick.
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Evac the vacuum chamber
Press the Evac button and the pumps should start.
After 5 to 10 minutes the Status should show Ready and the HT button should turn on meaning that the filament is heating. The live video should also show up on the monitor.
The Specimen exchange Menu can be closed.
Filament heating
1. Press the gun button to open the Gun Alignment Menu
2.If you set the filament heating slider into the orange bar a overcurrent will occur and filament lifetime will be greatly reduced :( Adjust the filament heating slider so there is as bright a picture as possible. It needs to be just to the left of the orange colored bar !
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Gun alignment.
Use the X and Y knobs one at the time to adjust the light in the picture. Try to make the picture as bright as possible and for the light to hit as much as possible. We will fine adjust these again later when we calibrate the lens. Be careful not getting these screwed to much since it can be hard to find the right spot again.
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Adjusting sample holder tilt X-Y
Open the spot size menu and set spot size to 30. Adjust tilt X and Y sliders to get the brightest image.
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Minimize image shift
Use the Magnification knob to zoom in to around 10000X.
Use the Focus knob to make it as sharp as possible.
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Minimize image shift page 2
Press the Wobbler button the image is probably gonna move drift in a direction. To minimize this slowly turn the X and Y knobs on the aperture until this image is not moving in any direction. When finished open the menu / Tools and press Lens Reset.
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Astigmatism correction
Astigmation is not noticeable at low magnification but about from 5000x if the image seems to flow in a direction a non uniform blur is because of astigmation. If there is no astigmatism blur occur uniformly.
Astigmatism correction focus
Focus the image using the manual focus knob. Then press the STIG button. Use the X and Y knobs to get rid of any non uniform blur. When happy with the result press menu / Tools and press Lens Reset.
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Improving image quality
Using the astigmatism correction and minimize image shift methods repeatedly at least 2 or 3 times pr sample makes it possible to focus from 1000x to around 50000x but if you wanna go to beyond 100000x these methods should be super nerfed and if you get good focus at 50000x you are having a really good day in front of this amazing machine.