Scanning electron microscope offers resolution down to 1nm

FEI has unveiled its latest Apreo scanning electron microscope (SEM) that shows potential in the fields ranging from materials and life sciences, to research in semiconductor, energy, and chemistry. Due to its proprietary compound final lens design, the Apreo SEM is capable of resolution down to 1nm at 1kV without the need for beam deceleration, offering high performance on nearly any sample, even if it is tilted or topographic, indicated the company.

Researchers and developers need to get as much microscopic information as possible from their samples. They want to be able to see materials contrast and determine the chemical or crystallographic sample properties on a wide range of samples, whether they are conductors, insulators, magnetic or beam sensitive, and they want to do so over a wide range of conditions including: high- or low-vacuum and at different tilt angles. Apreo provides this capability, FEI noted.

According to the company, the device offers backscatter detection at the lowest beam currents, at any tilt angle, on sensitive samples and at TV-rate imaging, so materials contrast is strong. Detector segments can be individually addressed, which allows researchers to optimise for angular contrast or for signal intensity and extract the information that matters most. It provides a range of approaches for dealing with insulating samples, including a low-vacuum capability with a chamber pressure of up to 500Pa. Finally, Apreo claims to be an excellent tool for analytics, with ports for up to three energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS) detectors, coplanar EDS & electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), analytics-compatible low-vacuum, and beam currents up to 400nA.

The Apreo software provides user guidance and 'point-and-click' navigation using an in-chamber camera, making it easy for even novice users to get excellent results. High-productivity labs will appreciate the ability to load multiple samples quickly and easily without tools, added FEI.