Electron Optic Documents

Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) is a powerful technique capable of characterizing extremely fine grained microstructures in a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Electron Backscatter Patterns (EBSPs) are generated near the sample surface, typically from a depth in the range 10 – 50nm. In order to achieve effective analysis it is imperative to combine high beam current with small probe size to achieve high spatial resolution in a time efficient manner.

Utilizing Monte Carlo Modeling of electron trajectories Electron Flight Simulator is a software tool designed to make your job easier. It can help you understand difficult samples, show the best way to run an analysis, and help explain results to others. With it you can see how the electron beam penetrates your sample, and where the X-ray signal comes from, for a wide variety of microscope conditions. You can model multiple layers, particles, defects, inclusions, and cross-sections. Any sample chemistry can be modeled.

JEOL’s in column Upper Electron Detector (Through The Lens Detector) provides not only ultra-high resolution imaging but also includes a user selectable energy filter allowing the user to study a sample under different contrast mechanisms. For example, this energy filter allows the user to select low energy secondary electrons (SE) to enhance topographic features or high energy backscatter electrons (BSE) to highlight atomic number contrast. This detector is especially useful at lower kVs.

The JEOL Environmental Airlock system allows for the simple transfer of reactive specimens to the SEM without being exposed to air. For specimens where any exposure to air or moisture can alter or destroy the structure, this system provides a cost effective and simple method to bring specimens from a glove box directly to the SEM.

In the last decade there has been a quantum leap in the ability of scanning electron microscopes to observe a variety of materials and biological specimens with ultrahigh resolution and exceptional surface detail, in particular employing low voltage SEM. Low voltage imaging has become a key technique for charge control and reduction, especially in the cases where no surface modification (for example conductive coating) can be employed to alleviate specimen charging during SEM observation.

Contamination and Off-Flavor; Evaluation and Analysis

One of the main imaging artifacts generated during specimen observation in SEM is specimen charging. The effect of charging manifests itself either via ‘flattening’ of the image due to the beam deflection close to the source of charging, or extremely high or low contrast and image distortion. This artifact can be substantially reduced by either application of conductive coating to the sample or by lowering the primary beam voltage. Contemporary FE-SEMs have the ability to produce nm size spot sizes even at 1kV and below, paving the way for high resolution imaging and analysis of nanomaterials and surfaces without the need for conductive coating.

The quest for renewable energy sources is prompting the development of technologies capable of tapping into alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and tidal energy. To fully exploit these energy sources, engineers need novel ways of storing and converting these energies.

Graphene is a crystalline form of carbon defined as a hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms in a one-atom thick planar sheet. Graphene has outstanding properties (mainly mechanical strength, optical transparency and excellent electrical and heat conductivity) that make it an attractive material for electronics applications. Traditionally, graphene structures have been imaged with aberration-corrected TEM, AFM, or STM.

The combination of Scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging and embedded microanalysis (EDS) offers the perfect combination of direct particle visualization and chemical information at the same time. The recent emergence of automated solutions and multi area analyses has brought this technique to the forefront of the available automated particle analysis solutions.