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- Push the ‘power switch’ on the left-hand side of the microscope (Figure 1.2).
- Launch the Nanoeye software icon (Figure 2) on the desktop to launch the program . Occasionally the software will fail to launch, due to issues with communication. Restarting the computer will reset the COM ports and should allow the user to launch the software.
- Note that the Nanoeye software will launch under the Admin user account, so anything saved to the Desktop will not be accessible to anyone logged into the typical user account. For that reason, save all data into the C:\\SEM directory.
- Prepare your sample for SEM analysis. Depending on the size and material, this may require gold/palladium sputter coating or carbon-coating (used for EDS). For sputter/carbon coater instructions, see the Sputter Coating Quick Start Guide.
- Common sample types include: stubs, with or without sputter coating; thin-sections with carbon coating; grain-mounts with carbon coating.
- Somewhere need to explain that coating is to prevent charging, which is especially common with thin-sections. Show a picture. Can copy some of the text out of the Hitachi SEM user guide
- Using the jig (Figure 3), measure the size of the specimen including mount. Use the gradations of the horizontal grid on the jig to measure the diameter of the specimen and the vertical grid for the specimen height. If you are using older 3.2mm style stubs with a narrow attachment post, there is an adapter available to fit into the stage. Make sure to measure dimensions with the adapter attached.
- Important: use compressed air to blow off any loose material on the sample that otherwise could be mobilized within the vacuum and damage the detectors.
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- Use a 1.5 mm allen wrench to carefully loosen the set screw, then insert the mount with the specimen to the stage, and tighten the set screw (Figure 5).
- Important: Ensure that stub (+/- adapter) is seated fully into the stage mount. Use caution when loading samples to prevent accidental collision with detectors. Gloves should be worn when handling any components/sample material that goes into the vacuum chamber. IMAGE GOES HERE
- Skin oil and loose debris can damage the detector. Stubs should be prepared with gloves. For thin-sections and grain mounts, they should be wiped with isopropanol. It may be beneficial to leave a grain mount overnight in a vacuum or dessicator cabinet, as the larger quantity of epoxy can de-gas water vapor and other volatiles.
- If you lose the set-screw for the stage, there are a few spares in a small ziploc bag in the clear case with SEC SEM accessories.
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