UL Lafayette: Microscopy Center: STEM

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HITACHI 7600
SCANNING TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

System Specifications

Resolution - 0.2nm (lattice image), 0.36nm (point-to-point)
Accelerating Voltage - 40 ~ 125kV
Magnifications - Zoom: x700 ~ x600,000, Low Mag: x50 ~ 1,000
Dual Gatan CCD camera system
	real time video camera 256x256 image size
	high resolution camera 2056x2056 for digital micrographs
Film camera available
Liquid nitrogen cooled anti-contamination device

The Hitachi H-7600 is 125kV instrument that is fully digital but retains the ability to capture conventional silver halide images. Digital image capture is possible either with a Gatan video camera at 256x256 image size, or with a high resolution Gatan First Light CCD camera that can save 2056x2056 sized images. Samples can be imaged through different angles using a +/- 60 degree tilt stage. For energy dispersive x-ray analysis, a low background beryllium tilt stage holder is provided. X-ray analysis and imaging can be done in either the transmission (TEM) mode or in the scanning transmission (STEM) mode. Using the F-zoom program in the TEM mode, a wide range of spot sizes are available so moderately sized particles or small areas can be quickly analyzed for elemental composition. For particles that are less than 30nm, the STEM mode can be used to first capture a high resolution image of the area of interest and then digitally select one or several particles for analysis using a spot size as small as 2.5 nm. If the entire sample area is of interest, the STEM mode can be used to provide elemental maps using IXRF software which includes a pixel tagging functionality so that the data can be saved and reanalyzed later for other elements. The STEM mode is also an excellent tool for imaging the structure of thicker samples because of the reduction in chromatic aberration that occurs when the lower lenses are not in use. Amira software loaded on a Dell Dimension XPS computer in the Microscopy Center is available for 3-dimensional image reconstruction from serial sections.

Document last revised Thursday, November 10, 2005 10:49 AM