The Carl Zeiss AURIGA® CrossBeam® Workstation (installed in 2011) is a sophisticated multi-functional platform based on a high performance field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) combined with a powerful focused ion beam (FIB) system operating in the analogue mode. It is equipped with an advanced Oxford Instruments’ X-Max large area (20mm2) silicon drift detector (SDD) energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and a super high speed NordlysF detector electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) analytical system. The superior simultaneous multi-channel data acquisition and analysis system make this compact instrument a unique facility suitable for a number of applications including:
-
subsurface inspection and measurement at the submicron scale,
-
quantitative compositional and morphological analyses,
- in-situ fabrication and modification of micro-devices,
-
site-specific sample preparation for TEM analysis,
-
orientation imaging and indexing
-
3D slicing and imaging
-
3D EBSD
-
3D EDS analysis
The AURIGA can be used to examine a wide range of dry and conductive specimens (coating prior to loading into the chamber is required for non-conductive materials). Its unique stage motion control system enables it to hold a wide range of sample sizes and also to navigate between multiple indexed samples. The specially designed ultra-thin film EDS detection capacity (<50nm thick surface layer for 15kV) make it possible for simultaneous FIB slice milling and EDS mapping. For further information about the use of the FIB please contact Charlie Kong or Sean Lim.
