2010 Innovation Awards
providing the mySEM with not only a new electron source, but a new pre-aligned and calibrated electron beam column.
Model 1040 NanoMill E.A. Fischione Instruments, Inc. Developer: Paul E. Fischione Te Fischione Model 1040
NanoMill® TEM specimen preparation system is a tool for creating the high-quality thin specimens needed for advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging and analysis. It may be used for post-FIB (focused ion beam) processing and for the enhancement of conventionally prepared specimens. Te NanoMill
system features a gaseous ion source technology that produces ions with energies as low as 50 eV. With a beam size as small as 1 µm in diameter, the ion beam can be targeted to a specific area of interest. A secondary electron detector (SED) is used to image ion-induced secondary electrons generated at the targeted area of the specimen. Te NanoMill system delivers low-energy, inert gas ions
to an area typical of FIB lamella possessing dimensions, about 5 µm by 10 µm. Tis device is beneficial in removing damaged layers because the ion energies can be just above the sputtering thresholds of today’s advanced materials. Te use of inert gas is advantageous in order to avoid chemical reactions within the specimen, and the small beam diameter is essential in avoiding the re-deposition of material sputtered from adjacent areas. Te NanoMill allows specimens to be prepared without
amorphization, implantation, or re-deposition. Focused ion beam (FIB) technology, using a liquid metal (Ga) ion source, can generate nanometer-scale ion beams; however, that technique oſten results in amorphization, Ga implantation, or both. In addition, conventional ion milling technology employs large diameter inert gas ion beams on the order of hundreds of microns to a few millimeters versus 1 µm in this system. With advances in aberration-corrected TEM/STEM
technology, greater demands are placed on the specimen. In addition, TEM operation at low accelerating voltages (
Microscope (S/TEM) FEI Company
Tecnai OsirisTM Scanning/Transmission Electron
Developers: Michiel van der Stam, Sebastian von Harrach, and Stephan Kujawa Te Tecnai OsirisTM
X-FEG is a proprietary electron
source that combines the benefits of a Schottky FEG (high total current and long-term stability) with a brightness typical of a cold FEG, but without the need for increased vacuum require- ments or tip-flashing. X-FEG delivers 3 to 5 times more beam current than a standard Schottky emitter in small probes, while keeping the convergence angle small. Te Super-X EDX detector
system integrates four silicon driſt detectors (SDDs) in the new A-TWIN (Analytical TWIN) objective lens, achieving a total solid angle of 0.9 sr for maximum collection efficiency. Te windowless, shuttered detectors can detect characteristic x-rays from all elements down to and including boron with good energy resolution: 136 eV (Mn Kα) at 10 kcps. A 50-times improvement in data collection speed provides faster, more precise results and better sensitivity for low-intensity EDX signals. Te system can collect up to 100,000 spectra/sec reducing data acquisition times from hours to minutes or from minutes to seconds (compared to standard instruments) and permits faster surveys of larger areas. Te new FS-1 electron energy loss spectrometer combines efficient data collection with full energy resolution. Other innovations include Multiloader sample handling
that reduces the time required for the sample to reach thermal equilibrium within the microscope. Te small metal sample cartridge has much lower thermal mass than a typical sample holder. By eliminating most of the time normally spent waiting for the sample to stop driſting before beginning analysis, the Multiloader provides up to a 10× reduction in time-to-data. Te SmartCam, a high-speed digital camera, allows the operator to work remotely from a more comfortable workstation, reducing operator fatigue.
Ultra-High-Resolution Atomic Imaging of Surfaces and Bulk Materials
Brookhaven National Laboratory Hitachi High Technologies Corp.
Developers: Yimei Zhu, Hiromi Inada, Kuniyasu Nakamura, and Joseph Wall
Imaging the surface and bulk at
atomic resolution simultaneously is a longstanding desire with a wide range of applications in physical science, life science, and engineering. Tis new method, involving hardware and soſtware development, is used to image individual atoms and their arrangement on the sample surface and in the bulk (internal arrangement and structure) by detecting
is a digital 200-kV S/TEM system,
designed to deliver improvements in the speed, precision, and sensitivity of analysis, as well as high-quality imaging in TEM and STEM. It achieves these goals by incorporating a number of innovative technologies in a single, fully integrated instrument.
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electrons that emerge from the surface as well as those transmitted through the sample. Te hardware was mainly developed by Hitachi in
collaboration with BNL. Various detectors are incorporated at optimal locations with respect to the sample position to
www.microscopy-today.com • 2010 September
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