S/TEM System offers sub-Angstrom imaging capabilities.
Press Release Summary:
Featuring fully enclosed profile, Titan³(TM) 80-300 combines 2 Cs-aberration correctors and monochromator on single instrument. Scientists can study how atoms combine to form materials, how materials grow, and how they respond to variety of external factors. Equipped with digital remote control interface, system operates from 80-300 kV, providing optimized imaging of wide variety of materials, from ultra-light carbon compounds to ultra-dense heavy metal samples.
Original Press Release:
FEI Unveils the Shape of Things to Come for Ultra-High Resolution S/TEM Imaging
Titan3(TM) Delivers Innovative "In the Box" Thinking
OCTOBER 15, 2007/Hillsboro, Ore.-FEI Company (Nasdaq: FEIC), widely acknowledged as the leading innovator for ultra-high resolution transmission electron microscopes (TEMs), has added a revolutionary new instrument, the Titan3(TM) 80-300 to the Titan product family. Aptly named the Titan(TM) "cubed" because of its unique, fully enclosed profile, the system is designed to deliver the highest stability and performance in a commercial scanning/transmission electron microscope (S/TEM).
The Titan3 takes the capabilities of FEI's powerful Titan S/TEM microscope, introduced in 2005, to new levels of performance and enhanced operation, giving users the sub-Angstrom imaging capabilities of the world's most powerful commercially-available microscope (the width of an average strand of human hair ranges from 500,000 to one million Angstroms) and a lower total cost of ownership for a high-end microscope.
The superb ultra-high resolution S/TEM performance of this new system is achieved by its all-new design that allows--for the first time ever--the combination of two Cs-abberation correctors and a monochromator on a single instrument. The system's innovative enclosure significantly reduces environmental interference providing greater stability and eliminating the need for many expensive lab improvements.
"The use of our Titan3 often involves numbers of students and post-doctoral fellows excitedly grouped around the console. Their often-loud talking and movements in the vicinity of the enclosed microscope appear to have no effect on the quality of the data produced," explains Dr. Hamish Fraser, director of the Center for the Accelerated Maturation of Materials at Ohio State University and a beta user of the Titan3. "Our microscope is situated in a room that is of reasonable quality in an old building, but the addition of the "box" provides excellent insulation and raises the quality of the system's operating environment to being superb."
This new Titan family system is targeted for a growing range of industrial, institutional and academic researchers who need to characterize the atomic-scale structure, chemistry and dynamics of individual nanostructures. With the aberration-free, sub-Angstrom vision of the Titan3, scientists can study how atoms combine to form materials, how materials grow and how they respond to a variety of external factors. The monochromator complements these capabilities by providing additional information about bonding states of atoms and about electronic properties on the nanoscale. These are the most basic parameters that science needs to understand to improve materials properties and to obtain a deeper understanding of the macroscopic behavior of nanotechnology devices. Such data can aid in the improvement of designs for everything from better, lighter, more efficient light sources, automobiles and airliners, to stronger buildings and new ways of harvesting energy.
The Titan3 features a new, fully-digital remote control interface that improves ease of use and changes how users interface with the instrument. No longer will system operators have to work in dark remote labs. An all-new digital user interface affords users the freedom to operate the Titan3 remotely and in ambient conditions. A high-speed digital camera and smart user interface make operation easier and improves the handling of a wide range of applications.
The Titan3 80-300 can be operated in the range of 80 to 300 kV for optimized imaging of a wide variety of materials from ultra-light carbon compounds to ultra-dense heavy metal samples. The modular design of the Titan column also offers greater planning flexibility when purchasing the Titan3. Base systems can be retrofitted in the field with probe Cs- and image Cs-correctors.
"It used to be that microscopy labs were built around the microscope to accommodate the stringent acoustic and temperature limitations of advanced S/TEM systems, adding significant costs to acquiring advanced instrumentation," explains Dominique Hubert, vice president and general manager for FEI's NanoResearch division. "The Titan3, with its combined benefit of market-leading performance and its enhanced total cost of ownership, sets a new industry standard and will change how buyers approach the prospect of purchasing ultra-high resolution S/TEM systems."
About FEI
FEI's (Nasdaq: FEIC) is a world leader in providing pioneering technologies and applications that deliver imaging solutions for 3D characterization, analysis and modification/prototyping capabilities with resolutions down to the sub-Angstrom level. Our customers, working in advanced research and manufacturing, are supported by field-experienced applications specialists, and open access to FEI's prestigious global user network. FEI's NanoPorts in North America, Europe and Asia provide centers of technical excellence where our world-class community of customers and specialists collaborate on the ongoing development of new solutions. FEI has sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com.
