Carbon, Gold/Palladium Coater (Leica EM ACE600)
Scanning Electron and Transmission Microscopy
(SEM, STEM, FESEM Sigma-500)
Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry
(Quantax EDS)
SE (secondary electrons), In-lens, BSE (backscatter), C2D (variable pressure), STEM Detectors
Elemental mapping using EDS (energy-dispeersive spectrometry)
Imaging with no coating/ thin coating (~3 nm)
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FESEM Sigma-500 is a variable pressure system, with scanning electron, scanning transmission, and back scattered electron imaging modes. Sigma 500 allows users to examine biological specimens without coating a conductive layer. Specimen preparation is straightforward and the variable pressure mode of the system allows non-invasive/less destructive imaging. The use of back scattered electrons helps differentiate components consisting of higher and lower atomic masses, and provides insights into elemental information within tissues. In addition to the scanning mode, Sigma 500's transmission mode (STEM) allows users to acquire images like a traditional transmission electron microscope (TEM). That is, internal structures of specimens prepared to image using TEM also can be revealed by STEM mode on the Sigma 500. While traditional TEM usually holds one grid, the STEM sample holder accommodates 12 grids and facilitates high throughput. The sample navigation facilitated by a camera will identify the region of interest for correlative imaging, using light and electron microscopy techniques on the same specimen. This system facilitates high throughput and enables multi-length scale correlation of data sets acquired from light and X-ray microscopy techniques.