Materials scientists and researchers have a wide range of needs regarding modern electron microscopes: high performance, versatility, and the ability to deliver the best results in a short time, all combined with a constant requirement of higher productivity. To accommodate these needs, Thermo Fisher Scientific has developed a wide range of automated processes and alignments for SEMs, TEMs and DualBeams. Through these, users can spend less time on maintenance and image fine-tuning to boost their productivity and get better results.

1. Achieve Higher Performance with
your Microscope with Minimal Effort
Using Automated Alignments
Alice Scarpellini, MS
Application Development Scientist
Thermo Fisher Scientific

2. An application and technical expert
presents an overview of automated
alignments.
Achieve Higher Performance
with your Microscope with
Minimal Effort Using
Automated Alignments

3. Automation driving excellence
Not automation for automations sake….. automation driving better science
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PRODUCTIVITY
ACCESSIBILITY
CONFIDENCE
• Throughput, more samples per day
• More data, statistical relevance, representative data
• Efficiency, 24/7 availability
• Designed to be always running
• Speed to train users, complex tasks made routine
• Tools that are always optimised and ready to go
• Complicated experiments made easy with recipes
• Any place any time, remote access, full control
• Less manual tool intervention
• Accuracy, the right answer
• Precision, reproducibility for process control
• Consistency, reproducible results every time
• Dependable user independent results
• Remove human factor errors
• Calibration for accuracy
More Data
A Better Way
Reliable
Answers
BETTER
SCIENCE

4. Overview
• Introduction
• Why automated and predictive alignments are
so important
• Automation in floor model SEMs; Flash™ and
SmartAlign™
• Automation in desktop SEMs;
• Automation in TEMs; Align Genie, AutoSTEM,
OptiSTEM and OptiMONO
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5. Introduction
Since their early development, electron microscopes are key to researchers and scientists
Philips XL series SEM
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6. Increased instruments availability
Why automated and predictive alignments are important
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Different factors boost the electron microscopes usage
• Increased users' variability
• Need for higher accessibility
• High productivity
• Improved reliability
Being able to serve a broader audience
Remote work
Ease of use
Data reproducibility and consistency

7. 7
Automation for floor model SEMs
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• Flash™ Technology
• SmartAlign™ Technology
Less maintenance and alignments means more time for the real work
✓ New and automated fine image tuning
✓ Always optimized images
✓ Unattended automated alignments
✓ Minimized maintenance

8. SEM alignments
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Sometimes long and tedious for unexperienced users
Astigmatism
correction
Lens
Alignment
Focus

9. Flash Technology
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• Customized image tuning for a
specific area of interest and
imaging settings (accelerating
voltage and beam current).
• Available with all detectors.
• Customizable Flash settings (steps
to run, dwell time and image
resolution) to ensure the highest-
resolution results.
Easy image optimization, automatic lens align, astigmatism and focus adjustment

10. Alignment-free operation for improved productivity
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Newly developed approaches for auto-functions for improved productivity
• Focus where you need with easy
access to autofocus at any location
in the field of view.
• Fast auto-functions for high quality
imaging
→Auto focus < 5 s
→Auto stigmator < 5 s

11. SmartAlign Technology
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• Source shift
• Source centering
• Stigmator center
• Tip drift compensation
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Minimum effort to keep the system at optimal conditions
• Source tilt
Run unattended (scheduled)
Run every kV or beam
current change
Always aligned system
Reduced yearly maintenance
Minimized downtime
• Automatic software updates
• Self-diagnostic tools
• Guided maintenance (i.e., manual, videos)
Improved self-serviceability

12. Automation for desktop SEMs
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• Auto source tilt
• Auto focus
• Auto stigmation

13. Automation for desktop SEMs – Auto focus
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Bad autofocus Good autofocus

14. Automation for TEMs
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• Align Genie
• AutoSTEM
• OptiSTEM+
• OptiMONO
✓ Automated TEM and STEM tunings
✓ Automated focus/astigmatism correction
✓ Automated aberration correction
✓ Optimal energy resolution and optimized mono-
stigmation and focus

15. Align Genie
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Align Genie aligns the microscope for you so that you can focus on doing experiments.

16. AutoSTEM
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Automated alignment software for the correction of focus and astigmatism in STEM mode.
• Designed to work at STEM magnification up to 1 million
• Fast and reproducible
• Best foundation for HRSTEM
• Extremely useful for beam sensitive materials

17. OptiSTEM+
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Automated, fast and reproducible aberration correction
• Fast: it provides the best correction of 1st and 2nd order aberrations
(2-3 min) in the area of interest.
• Better results: provide the ultimate STEM resolution.
• Reliable: allows to achieve the ultimate resolution of the system in
a wide range of acceleration voltages, between 60 and 300 kV.
• No more sample deterioration
60 kV
300 kV
Graphene
63 pm dumbells in Ga [211]

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• Turn on the monochromator
• Excite it by applying both magnetic field and
electric field (higher strength of the field
applied will give higher energy resolution
• Automatic adjustment of the monochromator
focus, stigmator X and Y
• GIF filter focus X and Y adjustment
Provides the optimal energy resolution for a certain mono excitation and optimizes mono-stigmation
and focus
Before
Energy Resolution = 1eV
After
Energy Resolution = 30meV
OptiMono+

19. Not just a black box
Automation that does not compromise understanding or education
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The status of each process is
shown to make users follow
its progress.
Full customization allows to
adapt the functions to the
area of interest, to the
parameters in use –hence to
achieve the best result
possible for a wide range of
applications.
Settings can be tuned to allow
experts to have complete
control on how they execute
their functions.
Automated source
alignments, diagnostics and
software updates are not
meant to exclude the users
contribution but to keep the
tool in optimal conditions and
to guarantee a superior level
of robustness.

20. ACCESSIBILITY
PRODUCTIVITY
Conclusions
How our automation solutions impact themes
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CONFIDENCE
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CONFIDENCE
• Saving on time-consuming alignments allows to process more samples.
• Alignment-free operation guarantee higher efficiency and the possibility to run long workflows
overnight or over the weekend.
• Tools are now available to users of any experience level.
• Tools are more accessible for remote work.
• Improved reliability.
• Ready-to-go tools
• Optimized tools generate reproducible results.

21. Thank you for participating!
CLICK HERE to learn more and
watch the webinar
Alice Scarpellini, MS
Application Development Scientist
Thermo Fisher Scientific