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On Site Certificated Training | |
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Managers are
increasingly being pressurized to ensure that their staff is correctly
trained. Whilst the decrease in general staff levels continue the
requirements for staff competence increase and paperwork to prove that
competence needs to be acquired. In the
twenty-two years that Protrain have been training scanning electron
microscopists we have endeavored to raise the level of operator
competence through our range of courses. Although our H Series of
courses offer a basic training structure, a complete course, taking the
scanning electron microscopist from the A to Z of the subject, has until
now not been made available. We are pleased to offer Certificated
Training a quadrant “on site” teaching scheme that is designed to
take the scanning microscope operator from a basic introduction to the
instrument through to the highest levels of the subject. At last a
course where we are able to pass on all of the techniques which we know
improve the standard of scanning electron microscopy and have each
student provide pictorial proof of their competence. The training
schedule is broken down into quadrants, each an individual stand-alone
unit. A student moving through the quadrants will learn all there is to
know about operating an SEM. Both lecture and practical periods are
designed to impart the maximum amount of practical information. They
combine to produce a student workbook, a Portfolio, which is the
ultimate in a demonstration of practical scanning electron microscopy.
Every action performed on the microscope is a part of this book. Each
procedure is structured to result in a pictorial display defining the
optimum point of that action. Whilst the course is applicable to any of
the modern SEM, potential students operating elderly or very basic
instruments must be aware that the depth that the course may reach will
be more limited. It is essential that the instrument(s) used be fitted
with a computing system, a Polaroid camera, or some other means of
obtaining instant pictures. Each student
between quadrants will require a certain amount of instrument time. In
the case of students being involved with individual quadrants, after
each quadrant is completed, and the Portfolio is up to date, an
intermediate certificate of competence is awarded. After three completed
quadrants we feel that every avenue within the field of scanning
electron microscopy will have been explored and a graded “full
competence” certificate is awarded. Quadrant four relates to three
specialized areas of SEM that may be appropriate to some microscopists. The Certification Schedule Quadrant 1 - Basic principles of scanning electron microscopy. Lectures (1 day) 1. Electrons, Their production and control; scanning and magnification; lines, spots and resolution; the electron gun, electron lenses - development, aberrations, actions, deflection coils & stigmators; specimen area and control & display layout 2. Vacuum Systems - Vacuum; low vacuum systems, rotary pump; high vacuum systems, diffusion pump and turbo pump; vacuum gauges, vacuum control and sequences; contamination. 3. Switching On - Ready indications; setting up for a wave form, kV, spot size, signal level, base brightness level, magnification, scan settings; types of emission meter, dark current and standing current; saturation procedures and alignment. 4. Specimen Preparation Procedures - mounting, glues, coating - sputter and carbon; procedures for a range of specimens. 5. Basic Operating Procedures - Focus and astigmatism correction, assessment of spot size and correction of over or under adjustment; low magnification spot size, high resolution spot size. Practicals (2 days) Saturation and
alignment - correct saturation & under saturation, their effect on
image quality. The control of focus, stigmators, working distance, final
aperture and spot size - the relationship between the five variables and
image quality at low and high magnifications. Filament change and
cathode maintenance. Basic preparation procedures and optimising sputter
coater performance. Quadrant 2 - Intermediate SEM operating techniques. Lectures (1 day) 1. Reactions between the electron beam & the specimen related to SEM image formation. Elastic and inelastic scatter; Monte Carlo calculations for penetration depth related to Z and kV; emission zones for SE, BSE and x-rays. 2. Optimising SEM Performance. Accelerating voltage; emission current; spot size; aperture size; working distance; tilt; SE; BSE; photography. 3.
Maintenance Procedures. Filament exchange electron gun maintenance
procedures; analysis of the image; when to clean and why; how to clean;
basic fault finding procedures Practicals (2 days) The effect of
accelerating voltage - optimising the instrument over a range of
accelerating voltages, the interrogation of specimens at different
voltages, the relationship between performance and accelerating voltage.
Backscattered electron imaging - basic backscattered electron imaging,
the role of backscatter in the conventional image. Column maintenance
procedures. Procedures for the observation of unknown specimens. Quadrant 3 - High resolution scanning electron microscopy Lectures (1 day) 1.Electron emission energies, electron emission coefficients & Z; low voltage electron emission; electron detectors, the collection of signals SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4, SE5 BSE1, BSE2 and BSE3. 2. High Resolution Operation - Problems with high resolution imaging - the electron gun, signal types, specimen position, preparation procedures; methods of overcoming high resolution problems by design - LaB6, field emission, immersion lenses; operating techniques - improving performance, optimising for SE images, charge reduction, low voltage operation, high accuracy sizing. 3.
Backscattered Imaging Techniques - Using a backscattered detector -
optimising contrast & brightness; atomic number contrast; minimal
charge operation; sectioning in depth; environmental cells; doping
materials Practicals (2 days) High
performance scanning electron microscopy - high resolution techniques,
including optimising the electron gun for specific accelerating voltages
and the role of stability in instrument performance. SEM of difficult
materials, the optimisation of the instrument to enable the observation
of specimens where coating either may not be possible, or may obscure
small surface defects. The use of tilt and signal type to enhance the
viewing of difficult areas where higher accelerating voltages are
required. Using backscatter to display and develop minor texture changes
in polished materials and to section the specimen by accelerating
voltage. Quadrant 4 - A Choice of Practical Subjects (2 days each) either (1) Performance testing and instrument maintenance with a view to developing a preventative maintenance procedure- logging of the vacuum system, resolution, contamination rate, drift rate, and magnification calibration. or (2) A basic introduction to x-ray analysis the principles of energy dispersive x-ray analysis developed in practical periods to display - the optimisation of detector/specimen geometry, optimisation of beam energy and count rates, calibration, standard errors - sum and escape peaks, basic quantitative x-ray analysis procedures. or (3) Cryo scanning electron microscopy - the principles of the system, specimen preparation techniques, manipulation of the material, SEM operating procedures, coating, sublimation, freeze drying, high resolution procedures. Basic maintenance of a cryo system. Please Contact us for Course Costs for Certificated Training |
