Description:

This scanning electron microscope (SEM) has an ultimate resolution of 5 nm, and an operating chamber pressure range of 10-5 to 20 torr. It operates in air, water vapor, or other gases. Samples do not require coating to be imaged successfully, and the sample temperature may be varied from 20° C below ambient to 1000° C. Dynamic experiments may be recorded on a VCR.

Equipment:

A differential pumping system allows the entire ESEM® specimen chamber to be maintained at a specific gas pressure. A fully automatic electronic servo system is able to hold this pressure constant between 1 torr and 20 torr. This high pressure is three orders of magnitude higher than the typical SEM and causes no degradation of critical gun or upper column vacuum levels. The ESEM has a unique secondary electron detector, which is based on the principle of gas ionization and allows imaging of non-conductive samples. Positive ions created in the gas serve to effectively neutralize the destructive build-up of excess electron charge on the specimen.

Accessories:

• Backscattered electron detector
• Peltier cooling stage (plus liquid nitrogen cooled stage)
• 1000°C hot stage
• Tensile stage
• Micro manipulator
• Micro injector
• Cathodoluminescence detector
• Kikuchi pattern detector
• Digital Imaging capability

Applications:

• contact lenses
• artificial heart material
• polymer coated aluminum foil
• artificial artery tissue
• ice
• molten ceramic super-conductors
• wetting and drying of coated papers and pollutants
• tensile testing under controlled environments

Capabilities:

• Sample size: 30mm high by 100mm diameter
• Lateral range: 15mm vertical, 50mm horizontal
• Lateral resolution: 5nm