1. Leaders in Refurbished SEMs
SEMTech Solutions
SEMTech Solutions
Windows 7™ SOFTWARE CONTROL SYSTEM
2. About Us
• Founded in 2000
• We buy, sell, lease, and refurbish used SEMs
– We manufacture and sell SEM accessories
• Currently have over 150 SEMs in the field
• Customers include universities, start-ups and Fortune
100 companies
• Maintain several service offices throughout the U.S.
– Complete inventory of parts
– Service Contracts available
• We also offer FE-SEM analytical laboratory services
– Training and applications support is also available
4. Value Added Technologies
Digital Imaging with
Feature Measurement
Multiple Save Formats
Networking
IR Chamberscope
Flat Panel Displays
5. Windows 7™ User Interface
SEM operation with a
click of the mouse
Customer Value:
• Provide a reconditioned SEM
with a ‘mouse drive’
Windows 7™ user interface for
ease of performance for multi
operator facilities.
• SEM Functions and Image
Control Features provided in
one user intuitive Graphical
Users Interface (GUI).
• SEMTech Solutions has designed
the Graphical User Interface
(GUI) Software and will supply
service support for the
complete SEM system
Package.
6. SEM User Interface Features
Features:
• Better resolution via an increase
in the number of pixels
• User configurable menus for
quick selection of Magnification,
Spot Size, Accelerating Voltage,
Working Distance and Scan
Rotation
• Unlimited alphanumeric lengths
for file saving and image
annotation
• Various Image Save Formats
(TIFF, JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF) with
incremental numeric append for
quick saves of the same job
• Integrated measurements for
width, height, and angle of image
features
…..and more
7. ELECTRON GUN VOLTAGE:
The gun voltage section allows the gun voltage to be set three different ways; (1) Using the radio buttons; (2)
Clicking on the plus or minus buttons or (3) Right clicking on the voltage setting label.
Clicking on a radio button causes the gun voltage to be set to the corresponding value. If the SEM is a thermionic
gun, the voltage jumps to the voltage setting immediately. If it is a field emission (FE) gun and the voltage setting
is higher than the present setting and greater than 10KV, the voltage will immediately be set to 10KV, then it will
ramp to the desired voltage at a rate of 1KV per 0.5 seconds.
Right clicking on one of the radio button labels, brings up a dialog that allows the setting to be changed. This
method of setting the voltage can be configured to automatically degauss the final lens when the voltage setting
is changed.
Left clicking on the plus or minus buttons causes the gun voltage to increase or decrease in 100V steps. Right
clicking on the buttons causes the gun voltage to increase or decrease in 1000V steps.
Right clicking on the voltage setting label opens a dialog form that allows a voltage to be typed in. When the Set
button is clicked, the gun voltage is set and the dialog closes. If the SEM is a thermionic gun, the voltage jumps
to the voltage setting immediately. If it is a field emission (FE) gun and the voltage setting is higher than the
present setting and greater than 10KV, the voltage will immediately be set to 10KV, then it will ramp to the
desired voltage at a rate of 1KV per 0.5 seconds. This method of setting the voltage can be configured to
automatically degauss the final lens when the voltage setting is changed.
BEAM ALIGNMENT:
The beam alignment section has two slider bars that are used to change the beam alignment setting. The sliders
can be changed three differ ways. The adjustment slider can be clicked on and dragged until the desired setting
is achieved. For small jumps, the slider bar can be clicked on between the adjustment slider and one of the ends
of the control. For fine adjustments the arrows at the end of the control can be clicked on.
BEAM CURRENT:
For a thermionic gun, an emission current meter is displayed along with a numeric read out in the center of the
meter. If the system is equipped with a motorized filament rack, auto heat and auto bias buttons are available.
The auto heat button will automatically ramp the filament current to a preset level. The button will flash while
the filament is heating and will be shown as pressed when the filament is done heating. The auto bias button
sets the emission current to a preset level. The button will be shown in the pressed state when auto bias is
active.
SEM User Interface Description
8. IMAGE ADJUSTMENT BUTTONS:
CONTRAST – BRIGHTNESS – CONSENSER – STIMATOR – FOCUS
Each button is a multi-function button which accept left click
(fine),right click (medium) and middle click (coarse) mouse clicks.
When the mouse is clicked and held down on a button, the
cursor changes to an Up / Down arrow and moves to the center
of the left edge of the form.
Moving the mouse up or down, adjusts the control in fine
medium or coarse increments depending on which mouse
button is pressed and held. When one of these buttons is
clicked, the button face changes to an indicator bar which
shows the amount of adjustment being set.
MAGNIFICATION +/- BUTTONS:
The Mag plus and Mag minus buttons
are multi-function buttons which accept
left click (fine), right click (medium) and
middle click (coarse) mouse clicks.
When the mouse is either clicked on or
clicked and held down on one of the
mag buttons - the mag increases or
decreases in fine, medium, or coarse
increments, depending on which mouse
button is clicked.
Image Shift:
Image shift is implemented as a click and drag function. When
the magnification is above a user settable minimum
magnification the image is moved using beam shift by left
clicking on the image area and dragging the mouse. The image
shift is reset to its center position when the magnification goes
below a user settable magnification.
SEM User Interface Description
9. SCANNING MODES:
PARTIAL FIELD BUTTON:
In partial field mode the box can be moved by clicking on the box
and dragging it to a new location. It can be resized by clicking on
the lower right corner of the partial field box and dragging. In
partial field mode a new partial field box can be created by
clicking outside the current partial field box and dragging the
mouse to create a new box. The frame averaging can also be set
to 0, 1, 2, 4 and 9 in partial field mode.
FULL FIELD BUTTON:
In full field mode, there are six scan rates. Rapid scan and slow
scan rates 1 thru 5. In rapid scan and slow scan rate 1 the image
size is 600 X 480. In slow scan rate 2 the image size is 1200 X
960. In scan rates 3, 4 and 5 the image size is 2400 X 1920. Rate
4 also does 2X line averaging and rate 5 does 4X line averaging.
In rapid scan the frame averaging can be set to 0, 1, 2, 4 and 9.
SCAN RATE RADIO BUTTON STRIP:
In full field mode the scan rate is set using this control. The scan
rate can be set to rapid scan or slow scan rates 1 thru 5.
Rapid scan is five frames per second. Slow scan rate 1 is 8
seconds and doubled for each selected scan rate for a maximum
scan rate of 128 seconds at scan rate 5. If the image is frozen,
clicking this control will unfreeze the image and set the scan
mode to full field at the clicked on rate.
RAPID SCAN AVERAGE STRIP:
In full field rapid scan or partial field, the frame averaging is
selected using this control. Frame averaging of 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 and
29 frames can be selected.
IMAGE FREEZE:
The image must be frozen before an image can be saved. The
SEM annotation can be set up so that it will appear when the
image is frozen. When active, the SEM annotation along with any
displayed user text, measurements or graphics will appear on
saved images.
SEM User Interface Description
10. BOTTOM STATUS BUTTONS:
MAGNIFICATION LABEL:
The mag label can be set to display either mag or field of view.
When set to mag, left clicking on the label brings up a quick set
mag form with five user configurable mag settings. Clicking on
one of the radio buttons sets the mag to the radio button setting
and closes the form. Right clicking on one of the radio button
labels brings up a dialog that allows the setting to be changed.
Right clicking on the mag label opens a mag dialog form that
allows mag to be typed in and when the Set Mag button is
clicked the mag is set and the dialog closes. When set to field of
view the action of this label is the same except that the forms
and dialogs set the field of view instead of magnification.
GUN VOTAGE, WORKING DISTANCE, SPOT SIZE and SCAN
ROTATION LABELS:
Left clicking on any of these labels brings up a quick set form
with five user configurable settings. Clicking on one of the forms
radio buttons sets the parameter to the radio button setting and
closes the form. Right clicking on one of the radio button labels
brings up a dialog that allows the setting to be changed. Right
clicking on the label opens a dialog form that allows a setting to
be typed in. When the Set button is clicked the parameter is set
and the dialog closes.
SEM User Interface Description
MENU ITEMS:
Tools>Customize: Opens a form that allows user customization of the UI.
Logo Text – Enables a user to replace the SEMTech Solutions text on the alphanumeric with text of their choice.
Mag / FOV – Enables the magnification label on the bottom of the UI to switch between magnification or field of view.
Alphanumeric Over Live Image – Turns the alphanumeric on / off when the SEM image is not frozen.
Alphanumeric Over Captured Image - Turns the alphanumeric on / off when the SEM image is frozen.
Date Displayed on Alphanumeric – Turns the date field on / off on the alphanumeric.
Minimum Mag for Image Shift Active – Enables the user to set the magnification above which the image shift becomes active.
Min Mag for Image Shift Reset – Enables the user to set the magnification below which the image shift DACs are reset to the center of their range.
Tools>Options>Tabs Visible - Toggles the tabs on the right side of the image on / off.
Tools>Configuration - Opens a form that is used by service personnel to set up and debug the SEM. When clicked on, a password dialog opens that must
have the correct password entered before the configuration form will open.
Help>Symbol Table - Opens a form that shows the various key combinations that can be used to enter Greek letters and symbols.
11. TOOL BAR BUTTONS:
SAVE AS: Opens a Dialog which allows the file name, file type (jpg, bmp, gif, tiff
or png) and file location to be entered. When the Save button is clicked,
the frozen image along with any displayed user text, measurements or
graphics are saved with the entered file name and type at the selected
location.
SAVE INCREMENTAL: Saves the image along with any displayed user text,
measurements or graphics using the last saved file type and location. The
last saved file name has its suffix incremented if one exists or appending a
1 if one does not exist.
INSERT USER TEXT or SYMBOLS: When selected, it allows user text to be
entered onto the image area by clicking the area where the text is to be
entered and entering the text using the keyboard. Lower case and upper
case Greek letters can be entered by holding Ctrl and typing the letter
(lower case) or Shift and typing the letter (upper case). Symbols can be
entered by holding Alt and typing a letter. A symbol table can be opened
by selecting Help>Symbol Table. User text can be repositioned once the
Enter key is pressed. Click on the text and drag it to a new location or
remove it by dragging it off of the SEM image area.
MEASURE ORTHOGONAL: When selected, it allows user measurements
to be made in the horizontal or vertical directions. Measurements can be
horizontal or vertical lines or rectangles with horizontal, vertical and
diagonal measurements. Once they are drawn, they can be moved or
resized and the measurement text can be moved independently using the
mouse. A measurement can be removed by dragging it off of the SEM
image area.
MEASURE ANY DIRECTION: When selected, it allows user measurements
to be made in any direction. Once they are drawn, they can be moved or
resized and the measurement text can be moved independently using the
mouse. A measurement can be removed by dragging it off of the SEM
image area.
MEASURE ANGLE: When selected, it allows angular measurements to be
made. Once they are drawn, they can be moved or resized and the
measurement text can be moved independently using the mouse. A
measurement can be removed by dragging it off of the SEM image area.
INSERT SHAPE/ARROWS: Allows horizontal or vertical lines or rectangles
to be drawn. These work the same as Measure Orthogonal except there is
no measurement text. Allows arrows to be drawn on the image area.
Once they are drawn they can be moved or resized. An arrow can be
removed by dragging it off of the SEM image area.
SEM User Interface Description
12. Customer Base
3M – Alere – AlphaBet Energy -- Aquea Scientific -- A.T. Cross Company -- Aberdeen Proving Grounds -- ACT Labs -- American Bank
Note Holographics Inc. -- American Competitiveness Institute (ACI) -- Analog Devices -- Analogic Corp -- ANVIK Corporation –
Arcanum Alloy -- Argonne National Labs – Atmel -- BASF Corp. -- Battelle in WA -- BHA Technologies -- Biovail Technologies Ltd --
Boston College -- Boston City Police -- Brookhaven National Lab – Brooks Automation --Cannon Muskegon -- CC Technologies --
Chemet Corporation -- Chevron-Texaco Inc. -- Chip Supply Inc. -- Climax Research -- Constellation Tech Corp -- Consumers Energy --
Coon Restoration -- Cordis -- Corning -- Crane – Creo -- CT State Police -- CTI~Helix -- Curwood Inc. – Custom Sensors -- Delphi
Harrison -- Denzo -- Detroit Edison -- Dick Larese -- Discera -- Dow Chemical -- Dresser-Rand -- Drexel University – Duke University –
Duracell (P&G) -- Eastern Michigan University -- Eclipse -- Ener1 -- Englehard Corporation – EP Minerals – Epion (TEL) -- Esab
Welding & Cutting -- Eye Tech -- Fairchild Semiconductor -- FASL -- Ferro Corp -- Ford -- Ford Motor – Foresite – Foxborough Charter
School -- General Dynamics – Genfast – Georgia Institute of Technology -- Gaston College -- GM – Goodrich -- Handy & Harman –
Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems -- Herrera Stafford & Associates LLC -- Honeywell -- Hutchinson -- Hutchinson Industries
INC -- I.E.C. / University of Delaware – Idaho State University – IDEX – Indiana Research – Interplex -- IBM -- Ingersol Rand --
Intelicoat -- Intersil Corporation – IPG Photonics -- ITT – NASA Jefferson Labs -- Johns Hopkins University – KLA-Tencor -- Knolls
Atomic -- Ladish Company – Leyden Energy - Lilliputian Systems -- Lockheed Martin – LUND University --M.E.C. Tech Inc. --
MA/Com - Tyco -- Mac Steel -- Maida Development Co. – Mainstream Engineering -- Mass. Materials -- MEC -- MER Corp -- Mesa
State College -- MI Tech. Univ. -- Micro Star Technologies -- Microcosm -- Millersville Univ -- Mississippi Lime Co – MIT Cambridge,
MA - MIT Cambridge, MA -- MIT Lincoln Labs -- MMCC -- MMI -- Molecular Wire Corporation – MOOG Components – Nanoptics -
Nanoasis -- Nat'l Semi -- Naval Medical Research Center -- Naval Surface Warfare Center -- NC State University -- New England
Analytical -- NIST -- Norman Noble -- Northeastern University– Notre Dame – National Security Agency – Naval Surface Weapons
Center -- NuFlare -- Olin -- OMG Fidelity -- ON Semiconductor -- Opticomp -- Ormet Aluminum -- Osram PA -- OSU -- Oxford Super
Conductor -- P&W (UTC) -- Pall Trinity – El Paso Pipeline -- Peco Power -- Pfizer – Perkin Elmer – Pharmacia -- Phelps/Dodge --
PhotoMachining – Plymouth Gratings -- Pittsburg State University -- Polaroid -- PP&L – Princeton University -- Promet Services --
Providence College -- PVD -- Pyrogenesis -- R&H DE -- Raytheon -- RIT -- Rohm & Haas -- Rutgers Univ. -- Selee Corp -- Shipley --
SION Power -- Skyworks -- Spansion -- Staten Island College -- Stork/Twin City Testing -- Surfaces Research -- Tacom -- Technimet --
Teledyne Brown Engineering -- Textron Systems -- Thyssen Krupp Steel -- Tissue Engineering Consultants -- Trans Tech -- Trex -- Trexel
Inc. -- TRW -- Turbine Component Services -- -- Tyco Electronics -- U.S. Mint – UCAL – Davis -- UCONN -- UMass - Lowell -- UMASS
Boston -- UMASS-Amherst -- UNH Durham -- Univ of Michigan – UPENN -- Univ. of Arizona -- Univ. of Washington -- Universal
Display -- University of Connecticut -- University of Maryland -- University of Missouri – University of Minnesota - US ARMY -- US
Bronze Powders Inc. -- Utron Inc. -- UV Tech Systems Inc. -- VICOR -- Visteon – Wakonda -- Western New England College --
Whirlpool -- Williams International -- Worcester Polytechnic Institute – Xerox NY – Xerox Brazil
- Fortune 1000 Company, - Electron Beam Lithography Customer
13. Spare Parts
To assure customer
satisfaction, significant
investments have been
made in spare parts.
This includes parts for
refurbished SEMs, SEM
Accessories, and SEM
Consumables.
14. Service Contracts
Coverage of all items
that fail under normal
usage
3rd party items (i.e.
EDS) and
consumables not
included
Travel and expenses
are included
15. Testimonials
"My technicians are very excited about the refurbished scanning electron microscope that we
recently purchased from SEMTech Solutions. Your installation team did an excellent job! I'd say you
hit it out of the park!!
Jim Payne, Lab Manager, Goodrich Corporation, Peabody, MA
“SEMTech Solutions has done a fantastic job. I’ve dealt with many servicemen/technicians over the
years. Dave is by far the best one yet. If SEMTech Solutions is half as good as Dave, you have a
customer for life! I am happy with both the equipment, and the service.”
– Senior Metallurgist – Drake Dämerau - General Dynamics – Scranton, Pennsylvania
“SEMTech Solutions provided our nanotechnology facility a nice reconditioned Scanning Electron
Microscope. It was a smooth transaction from demonstration, shipping logistics and installation. The
field emission resolution of this tool advanced our capabilities at a fraction of the cost of new
equipment.”
Anders Kvennefors, Research Engineer, Lund University, Nanometer Structure
Consortium, Sweden
“ SEMTech Solutions recently installed their reconditioned SEM in our Materials Engineering
department. As expected, the SEM was installed and running the first day and training for our
department began immediately. We are impressed with SEMTech Solutions capabilities and
knowledge.”
Joe K. Cochran, Jr., Professor, Materials Science and Engineering,
Georgia Institute of Technology
