A new toy, a Hitachi SEM

[macona]

Got a new toy from a friend, and on Hitachi S-450 SEM. Got it working for the most part, had a scan issue with the CRT and decided to eliminate the diffusion pump and install a turbo pump in its place. It's an oldie, made somewhere around 1981. We picked it up off craigslist a couple years ago for $300 needing repair which I was able to do. My friend bought a couple newer Jeol SEMs and this one had to go. Pic of it still at his place from when I was repairing it:

Hitachi S-450 under repair. by macona, on Flickr

Crummy pic off the CRT, I need to rig up a digital camera on the photo CRT.

IMG_2059 by macona, on Flickr

[mixedgas]

I spent 8 years using one of those S-450s. Lovely!
Did you get the sputter coater for organic samples?

Steve

[macona]

I spent 8 years using one of those S-450s. Lovely!
Did you get the sputter coater for organic samples?

Steve

What was the highest useful magnification they were good for?

No, no sputter coater. My friend who I got this from kept it for the two Jeol SEMs he just got. I think I am going to put together a carbon coater for myself. I have the EDS unit for the Hitachi and carbon is better for that, plus I don't need a bottle of Argon to run that.

I am making my own filaments for it, there were two that came with the machine when we got is and both were fried by the time I got it, a guy on the net who was a Hitachi tech sent me a whole bunch of filament bases, I ordered some .089mm tungsten wire and I used a capacitive spot welder at PSU to weld on the new tips. So far they work well but I am going to send in a couple bases for professional retipping to see if there is a difference.

I had a scan issue and was able to repair that, bad scan amp module. I also replaced the diffusion pump with a turbo pump, much faster startup, no water cooling, and a cleaner chamber. Going to try to bring it into the living room tonight. I do need to get a new scintillator for it, the one in there is about 20 years old.

[mixedgas]

Ya know, I don't remember, but we were looking at surface detail on a 300 nm diameter nanofiber, no problem.
Never asked "How tight is the zoom?" and another technician took care of it.
Steve

[LaserCo]

I have a friend with a SEM
his descriptions and pictures

Electron micrograph of a chunk of ferrous scrap. A human hair is about 75um wide



Electron micrograph of a small chip

[macona]

Turns out the box I have for handling the EDS also does digital capture with the addition of one more accessory I got off ebay.

Screw head and dime, think the screw head is about 2mm in dia.

SCREW by macona, on Flickr

Iron Pyrite at about 2200x

PYRITE by macona, on Flickr

[Ped078]

The screw head one is a winner.

I'd like to see a razor blade edge or scalpel blade .

[buffo]

I have to ask myself why this thread is in the toxic waste dump and not the lounge???

Notice to Macona: this stuff is interesting as hell! It has no business in the trash heap...

Adam