Auriga SEM imaging procedure.md



Zeiss Auriga SEM imaging procedure

If the workstation is in the Standby mode, switch on the workstation by pressing on the green button
Start the SmartSEM user interface
In the "EM Server Log On" dialogue, enter the user name and the password
Check the status of the drivers in the EM Server window. All the drivers should be initialized by the end of the starting procedure
Attach the specimen to the stub. Use adhesive metal, carbon tape or glue the sample with crystal bond or SEM glue. Wear gloves at all times when handling the sample
Insert the stub into the sample holder
Fix the stub to the sample holder by tightening the srew
In the SmartSEM, check that EHT acceleration voltage is off before loading the sample into the chamber
Go to the SEM Control Panel, open the Vacuum tab
Click on the Vent button to ventilate the specimen chamber
After ensuring that the chamber was properly vented, slowly open the chamber door
Load the specimen into the chamber, by mounting the sample holder on the specimen stage
Close the chamber door, check the seal
In the Vacuum tab of the SEM control panel, click on the Pump button
Check the vacuum status and wait until the required vacuum level is reached. The microscope can be operated, when the system vaccum reached |pressure|1e-5| mbar, and the gun vacuum reached |pressure|1e-9..1e-10| mbar
Switch to the ChamberScope view in the SmartSEM
While in the ChamberScope, move the specimen closer to the objective lens
The distance between the objective lens and specimen surface should be less than |distance|10| mm
In the Vacuum tab of the SEM control panel, check that "EHT Vac ready=Yes" is indicated
Click on the Gun button in the status bar, and select Gun On to run up the gun
In the Vacuum tab of the SEM control panel, check that "Vac Status ready=Yes" is indicated
Go to the Gun tab and change the EHT target acceleration voltage to the desired value. For instance, one can use |voltage|5| kV
Click on the EHT button in the status bar, and select EHT On to run up the EHT and make the electron beam ready
Go to the Detectors tab and Select SE2 as the detector
Go to the Scanning tab and select a fast scan speed, for instance |scanning speed setting|1|
Reduce the magnification to find the area of interest. For example, use |magnification|500| x
Adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Detectors tab
Focus on the detail on the specimen surface by changing the working distance. Focus can be changed in a Coarse or Fine mode
Increase the magnification in a step-wise manner and focus in between. For example, use |magnification|500000| x
Optimize the image, by selecting a small scan frame the Reduced Raster option, then focusing on a specific feature on the surface.
Align the aperture by using the Focus Wobble and then aligning the aperture until no lateral shift is observed during wobbling. Turn off the Focus Wobble
Correct astigmatism by selecting the Stigmation option and then using the sliders to obtain the sharpest possible image
Deactivate the Reduced Raster
To produce an image, move over a region of interest and select the |scan speed|9..11| in the Scanning tab
Click on the Freeze button and wait until the image is produced
Select File/Save Image and save the file in the user directory.
To finish the work session, click on the All button in the status bar and select EHT Off
Go to the SEM Control Panel, open the Vacuum tab
Click on the Vent button to ventilate the specimen chamber
After ensuring that the chamber was properly vented, slowly open the chamber door
Remove the sample holder from the specimen stage
Close the chamber door, check the seal
In the Vacuum tab of the SEM control panel, click on the Pump button
Close SmartSEM
Remove the sample from the sample holder