SEM Tabletop 1

The SEM Tabletop 1 is a scanning electron microscope. It produces enlarged images of a variety of specimens. This important and widely used analytical tool provides images with very good resolution and depth of field, and a minimal sample preparation is required.

The tabletop SEM has a thermionic filament made of tungsten.

The SEM chamber is relatively small, so sample loading can be done fast and easy.

The stage is moved manually in the X and Y directions by turning two knobs on the door to the SEM chamber. It is not possible to adjust the height of the stage, and it is not possible to rotate and tilt samples. However, samples can be mounted on pinstubs with a fixed tilt angle.

Many sample materials are allowed in the this SEM, including all standard cleanroom materials and samples from the Laser Micromachining tool and the Polymer Injection Molding tool. Some other materials, including biological materials, are also allowed if they have been approved by Nanolab.

It is not needed to perform much optimization in order to obtain good SEM images. However, the tabletop SEM has a limited resolution compared to the other SEMs at Nanolab, but for inspection of samples with structures in the micrometer range it is very fast and easy to use. It is not necessary to be an autorized user of the other SEMs at Nanolab to use the tabletop SEM.

The SEM can be operated in different pressure modes: Conductor, standard and charge-up reduction. By increasing the pressure in the chamber it is possible to inspect isolating samples, because the higher density of gas molecules will eliminate the charges at the cost of a slightly reduced resolution. Thus the charge-up reduction mode makes it possible to obtain SEM images of most samples including isolating samples without much sample preparation.

The SEM is equipped with two detectors: A secondary electron (SE) detector and a backscatter (BSE) detector.

The SEM Tabletop 1 was installed at DTU Nanolab in January 2017.

The user manual, control instruction, the user APV and contact information can be found in LabManager:

SEM Tabletop 1 info page in LabManager,

Performance information

SEM comparison page

Equipment performance

Equipment		SEM Tabletop 1 (Hitachi TM3030 Plus )
Purpose	Imaging and measurement of	Conducting samples Semi-conducting samples Thin (~ 5 µm <) layers of non-conducting materials such as polymers Thick polymers, glass or quartz samples
Location		Building 347 - Packlab
Performance	Resolution	~25 nm The resolution is strongly dependent on the type of sample and the skills of the operator.
Instrument specifics	Detectors	Secondary electron (SE) Backscatter electron (BSE)
	Stage	X, Y: 35 × 35 mm T: No tilt R: No rotation Z: 0 mm
	Electron source	Thermionic tungsten filament
	Operating pressures	Conductor vacuum mode: 5 Pa Standard vacuum mode: 30 Pa Charge-up reduction vacuum mode: 50 Pa
Substrates	Sample size	Diameter: 70 mm Height: 50 mm
	Allowed materials	Any standard cleanroom material and samples from the Laser Micromachining tool and the Polymer Injection Molding tool Some biological samples (ask for permission)