The FEI Titan G² 60-200 ChemiSTEM is a remotely operated field emission gun (scanning) transmission electron microscope equipped with a high-brightness Schottky field emission electron gun, a Cs probe corrector, a Super-X EDX system (G2), an UltraScan 1000XP-P charge coupled digital camera, BF, DF2, DF4 and HAADF detectors, an on-axis bright-field/dark-field STEM detector as well as a Gatan Enfinium ER (model 977) spectrometer with Dual EELS option and FEI's Velox software allowing a simultaneous read-out of EDX and EELS signals (to come) and iDPC. The microscope runs in Win7 environment. In 2020, the microscope was equipped with an EMPAD pixelated detector from ThermoFisher Scientific in collaboration to develop novel methodologies.

Users should be trained by their supervisor who is an expert user of the microscope and inform the instrument officers Andras Kovacs, Peng-Han Lu.

Applications and limitations of use

The configuration allows a variety of advanced transmission electron microscopy techniques to be applied to a wide range of solid state materials. The microscope is dedicated to do state-of-the-art high-resolution analytical and imaging experiments due to the relatively modern EDX, EELS and pixelated detectors .

Instructions

New users are requested to be familiar first with aberration corrected STEM set-up and applications (e.g. Titan-S) and conventional EELS applications (e.g. Tecnai or Titan-S) before they allowed to operate this microscope.

Server (iff616) PC to store data for short time. Folder limit <20 GB.

DO NOT save Align file, only do if a special alignment is set up. Use FEG register instead.
Users to fill the liquid nitrogen always if level is below 20% at and if the level is below 60% on Friday afternoon
Velox's EDX data can be saved first on microscope PC (:F Velox_Data_disk) and transferred to iff616. Do NOT store data on microscope PC for long

Status

2024.01.10 [service] stage vacuum problem fixed, new LN2 dewar, new IGPs for octagon and liner, new support PC (:iff616), PM. New cross grating Au alignment sample.
2023.05.22-25 [service] PM, new extractor voltage, new SSD drive in microscope PC for Velox.
2023.05 [issue] Gatan CCD camera communication issue. New controller ordered. TFS and Gatan service is separated.
2023.03. [service] heated C2 aperture installed. Door should be modified.
2022.10.17 [issue] EMPAD PC down. [SC EU127365]
2022.10.4-14 [service] PM. C2-70µm change, Super-X detector 3-4 change.
2022.09.07 [issue] Power cut shuts down the microscope.
2022.09. [issue] beam instability reported. The beam disappears for short periods.
2022.08.30 [issue] Control panels do not work [SC EU135449] - fixed.
2022.08.24 [issue] Gatan camera unavailable. [SC EU135205] - fixed.
2022.07.19 [issue] PC down. [EU133539] Fixed on 21.7. by changing the video card.
2022.06 [issue] after stage service heavy contamination; reduced by several cryo-cycles. C2 70µm is dirty, DT holder O-ring changed. Several cryo-cycle solved it.
2022.05.28 [issue] vacuum crash at Octagon, holder can't be inserted [SC EU131314] .
2022.05.24 [issue] water leak at Gatan filter. Fixed by replacing the cooling lines (Tobias Caumanns)
2022.02.15-18. [service] 80 kV alignment fixed by GTS (D Kolmykov).
2021.12.02 [issue] Bad high-resolution conditions at 80 kV.
2021.11. New washers and clamps for DT holder.
2021.11 [service] Gatan Digiscan communication problem solved(?) by bypassing the Firewire connection with two finer optics repeaters, and new Firewire card
2021.10.27 [issue] no image on any detector, [SC EU122289], - a broken cable, temporarily fixed
2021.10.20 [issue] DF4 detector Brightness/Contrast doesn't work properly that makes iDPC/DPC not possible. [SC EU121964]
2021.10.04 [issue] Gatan Digiscan controller failed. Replacement ordered. [SC...]
2021.09.10 [issue] Stage tracking error. Fixed.
2021.08.27 - 09.03 [service] Gun exchange. GL problem solved. µP mode aberration is still open.
2021.08.23 [issue] Gatan communication problem is still present. Moreover the GMS re-start might switch off the UI.
2021.08.16 [service] Service is finished. Charging in microprobe remained, centre disk is elliptical (strong at 80 kV, weak at 200 kV), C2-70µm contaminated, vacuum is higher than before. New C3 unit. Extra apertures in C2 (P.Lu)
2021.05.20 [service] Tip change.
2021.05.19 [service] Gatan cooling lines fixed and reconnected.
2021.05.17 [issue] Strong beam tilt. First examination suggest the accelerator.
2021.05.16 [service] Gatan parts unavailable. Water line was blocked - fixed.
2021.04.12 [service] Digiscan controller replacement in hope to fix the communication problem
2021.04 [issue] Strong 3-fold astigmatism with 50µm aperture
2021.04 [issue] Beam instability is back (J Jo)
2021.03.25-29 [service] Apertures exchange (2nd time) with long pumping periods to make sure no contamination is introduced.
2020.12.22 [service] Gun IGP replacement, cryo-cycle.
2020.12.14 [issue] Gun, HT OFF, IGPs high.
2020.11.27 [issue] 80 kV TEM beam is off. GTS support is required for corrector alignment.
2020.10.27 [service, finished Nov. 27] New gun installation, 4k scan in Velox installed, cryo-cycle.
2020.10.20. [service] New hand panels with LAN connections are replaced.
2020.09.03 [issue] ST holder bent and fixed.
2020.08.24 [issue] Stage moving. Fixed after 1-week (PCI card).
2020.07. [issue] Beam is unstable and the alignment is shifting. Gun problems?
2020.06. [issue] The Digiscan is probably a cheeky shameless devil as it keeps disappearing.
2020.06.12-15. Cryo-cycle. New Au cross grating (no contamination - yet !)
2020.06. [issue] GMS looses Digiscan and CCD camera. Service requested. Bad quality Au-grating grid provided continuously by Plano.
2020.05.12. [service]. New gun, EMPAD detector installed, Velox updated (2.12)
2020.04.20. [issue] Gun error, tip replacement is needed. Cryo-cycle started.
2020.04.14. [service] Gatan BF/DF software control fixed (driver issue).
2020.04.06 [service] Super-X pulse processor replaced. The spectrum intensity (last line) issue still present.
2020.04. [issue] The air conditioning in the microscope and supply room fails to work due to the ongoing building works.
2020.04. [issue] CCD is a bit off, beam stopper can't be controlled. The Gatan BF/ADF control window disappeared from GMS.
2020.03.31 [service] Gatan CCD controller is replaced. Camera fully operational.
2020.03.13-15 cryo-cycle. Contamination was observed which is gone after the cryo-cycle.
2020.03.12-13 [service] updates TEMServer 2.15.3, Velox 2.11. [issues] SI last line intensity / DF gain close to limit/ 4k scan / 80kV (no time to check). EELS works but the issue keep coming back.
2019.12.12 Current list of issues: SI last line intensity / DF detector gain / 80 kV tomography and calibration / 4k scan
2019.12.09 [issue] Mailfunction of EDS detectors (100% dead time). Solved.
2019.11.06. EDS, EELS acquisitions are fixed.
2019.10.07 [issue] Velox scan error in use of SI and drift correction. Spectrum issue in EDS (140 eV peak). Drift tube problem in filter.
2019.09.23-2019.10.02 [service] Super-X G2 upgrade and software updates. TEMServer to 2.15.1, Velox to 2.9.1.24 and DM to GMS 3.23.1521. Bruker Esprit software is not available anymore. Imaging and EDX spectrum imaging to be made only with using Velox.
2019.07. New clips for DT analytical holder have been ordered.

Specifications

To come.

Specimen holders

Any new holder application has to be discussed with the instrument officers.

Double tilt low background holder (α tilt range ± 35°) for Super-X
Single tilt tomography holder (α tilt range ± 70°). Also used for STEM alignment.
Single and double tilt DENS heating holders are allowed only with special care of vacuum conditions and EDX detector intensities.

Beam current calibration

Instrument officers

The instrument officers of the microscope are Andras Kovacs, Roland Schierholz and Peng-Han Lu.

Location

Building: 05.2N
Microscope room: 2084
Operator Phone: +49 2461 61 xxxx