May. 06, 2013

Quantum-assisted Nano-imaging of Living Organism

In science, many of the most interesting events occur at a scale far smaller than the unaided human eye can see. Medical researchers might realize a range of breakthroughs if they could look deep inside living biological cells, but existing methods for imaging either lack the desired sensitivity and resolution or require conditions that lead to cell death, such as cryogenic temperatures. Recently, however, a team of Harvard University-led researchers working on DARPA's Quantum-Assisted Sensing and Readout (QuASAR) program demonstrated imaging of magnetic structures inside of living cells. Using equipment operated at room temperature and pressure, the team was able to display detail down to 400 nanometers, which is roughly the size of two measles viruses.
moreApr. 22, 2013

University College London Uses Evactron Plasma Technology

XEI Scientific Inc. has reported that the University College London (UCL) is using an Evactron plasma technology for cleaning their scanning electron microscopy chamber. moreMar. 05, 2013

Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy: Imaging Droplet Adhesion

Understanding exactly how droplets and bubbles stick to surfaces - everything from dew on blades of grass to the water droplets that form on condensing coils after steam drives a turbine in a power plant - is a "100-year-old problem" that has eluded experimental answers, says MIT's Kripa Varanasi. Furthermore, it's a question with implications for everything from how to improve power-plant efficiency to how to reduce fogging on windshields.
moreMar. 04, 2013

New Insights on Electron Channeling

Electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) is a powerful technique for the quantitative characterization of deformation structures in the SEM. The coupling of ECCI with EBSD provides an efficient method to attain enhanced diffraction contrast in the SEM. The EBSD-based ECCI set-up allows the imaging of dislocation and nano-twin substructures in the SEM. Some examples of quantitative microstructural characterization on structural materials are provided.
moreJan. 25, 2013

Archeological Pottery SEM-EDS Analysis

Archaeologists have identified several types of pigments used in ancestral Puebloan black-on-white painted pottery from the American Southwest. One type of pigment contains iron. The most widely used and available method of determining the elemental composition of these pigments has been scanning electron microscopy utilizing energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS).
moreDec. 13, 2012

VP-SEM: Unsung Hero of SEM Imaging

Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy (VP-SEM) has become an important tool for the imaging of hydrated specimens and samples with low conductivity. This article outlines various research scenarios where VP-SEM allowed minimal sample processing that often enabled successive specimen reuse. We present cases where these characteristics allowed imaging of specimens otherwise impossible using conventional SEM methods.
moreDec. 12, 2012

Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center Uses AFM Force Spectroscopy to Work at the Interface Between ...

The group of Dr Rikke Meyer from the interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) at Aarhus University, Denmark has used AFM and single-cell force spectroscopy to work at the interface between microbiology and nanoscience in the quest to understand how bacteria form biofilms and how this may be prevented. moreOct. 22, 2012

Pitfalls in the Measurement of FIB Beam Size

Focused ion beam (FIB) systems using heavy ions such as Ga are widely used for machining at the 10 - 100 nm level. In order to be able to perform this function precisely it is necessary to have an accurate estimate of the beam size. The commonly used method to measure FIB size is the rise distance method, well known in scanning electron microscopy (SEM), but this is subject to a number of errors that can result in an estimate that is optimistic relative to the true beam size. moreSep. 25, 2012

Cryo Preparation System for SEM and FIB/SEM

PP3010T from Quorum Technologies is an automated cryo preparation system for scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FE-SEM and FIB/SEM.

Cryo-SEM is the ideal preparation method for a wide range of "wet" or beam-sensitive specimens, including biological systems, foods, polymers, pharmaceuticals, oils, foams and many other materials.

At the operational heart of the PP3010T is the gas cooled aQuilo cryo preparation chamber, which includes tools for specimen fracturing and manipulation as well as fully automatic sublimation and sputter coating. moreJul. 24, 2012

M&M 2012: Live Demo of Tescans Plasma FIB-FESEM Workstation

Tescan will introduce the its fully integrated Plasma source FIB-FESEM workstation at the 2012 Microscopy and Microanalysis Trade Show in Phoenix, Arizona. more