Microtechnics

We offer sputter coating services for SEM/EDS and experimental projects. A Denton Desk V cool magnetron coater is used along with your choice of coating metal: Au/Pd, Pd, Ag or Pt. Pricing is per run which can be one pin stub, one slide, or a full holder of stubs (8 12mm stubs) coated at the same time. The coater will do planar coating or tilt and rotate coating. Ar gas is used for all coating.

This service is a whole slide scan which produces a 7,000dpi output image file of the specimen portion of a standard 1"x3" microscope slide. This is very useful for presentations, lectures, teaching, identifying areas of interest for higher magnification imaging and so forth.

Bruker XFlash 6060 SDD EDS element x-ray detector and report generation
- i. Imaging
- ii. Quantitative analysis
- iii. Fast EDS element mapping
- iiiV. Phase analysis

EDS is included in the SEM hourly rate. Long collection time EDS maps will increase the SEM hourly time. For most specimens, the mapping time for 32 frames at 640x480 pixels increases the SEM hourly time by about fifteen minutes to complete all map frames. For mapping of more than about six elements may increase the clock time by a few minutes.

Bright field (BF) light microscopy imaging includes the Olympus BX-51 with UPlanAPO wet or dry objectives and wet or dry condensers. Zoom imaging and image capture using a Leica Z16 zoom microscope with 0.5X or 1.0X APO lens, an Olympus SZX12 stereo zoom scope with illuminated base and a 33M pixel digital camera are also available. Images can be provided as CD/DVD mailers, Dropbox folder or flash drive. Flash drives vary in cost depending on the storage capacity of the flash drive. However, flash drives are discouraged due to susceptibility to corruption, malware and physical damage.

Dark field (DF) light microscopy imaging uses the Olympus BX-51 research grade microscope and UPlanAPO wet or dry objectives, wet or dry condenser and a 33M pixel digital camera.

DIC (Nomarski) light microscopy imaging is accomplished on the Olympus BX-51 research grade compound microscope with UPlanAPO wet and dry objectives and a 33M pixel digital camera. DIC is a fast imaging approach to some specimens to avoid the time and cost of staining the specimens. With DIC, minimal specimen preparation is needed to get quick results for determining whether more specimen processing or selection is warranted. DIC imaging can be performed from 5X to 1KX magnification using our UPlanAPO objectives and DIC prisms.

Transmitted phase contrast microscopy is offered using an Olympus BX-51 research grade microscope with UPlanFL phase objectives. Digital image capture is done with a 33M pixel digital camera. Output formats include JPEG and/or TIFF. Phase contrast is a fast imaging approach for some specimens to avoid the time and cost of staining the specimens. With phase contrast, minimal specimen preparation is needed to get quick results for determining whether more specimen processing or selection is warranted. For phase contrast, our UPlanFL objectives and phase condensers support magnification from 5X to 1KX. For magnifications from 600X to 1KX, single oil immersion can be used or double (aplanatic) oil immersion is available.

Transmission polarized light microscopy imaging is accomplished with a research grade Olympus BX-51 and UPlanAPO wet and dry objectives. Images are captured with a 33M pixel digital camera. In addition there is an Olympus SZX12 stereo microscope with 0.5X and 1.0X APO lenses with oblique polarized lighting and a 33M pixel digital camera. Image formats are JPEG and/or TIFF.

Image processing is used for many different applications and situations. Scanned negatives, camera-captured images, X-ray films, microscopy images and other images can benefit from image processing. Most labs have Photoshop which can do what is needed for many situations. However, for those really tough images where detail is lacking or adding color to B/W grey scale images will help researchers and viewers find seemingly hidden details, our specialized image analysis algorithm programs can make a big difference.

This service is offered using 36M pixel DSLR with aberration-free lenses. Reproduction ratio can be as great as 1:1. Image files are produced as high quality JPEG and TIF formats. Digital images can be delivered on CDs, DVDs or as cloud downloads. There is no extra charge for physical media delivery.

Microphotography is a service offered when the customer is not sure of what imaging or analysis method is the most suitable one for a specimen. We do initial examination of the specimen, make initial analysis of it and may report back to the customer with options for completing the specimen's analysis. Alternatively, a method may be immediately relevant for the specimen and this method will be suggested to the customer. No further imaging will be done until the customer agrees to the suggested approach or selects an alternative method. This microphotography service is essentially a "look-see" process--evaluating the specimen and suggesting the recommended method of imaging going forward. The customer can concur with the suggestion or terminate further investigation.

This service is Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging with elemental x-ray EDS analysis and quantification. A Zeiss Supra 40 FEGSEM and Bruker XFlash SDD EDS system are used. Results are ultra high resolution for both imaging and EDS.

Schottky field emission SEM with:
- E-T SE detector
- In-lens high resolution detector
- QBSD solid-state backscatter detector
- Bruker XFlash SDD EDS detector system