The NCNSM is proud to reveal our recently purchased Auriga Cobra FIB FESEM instrument. This was purchased earlier in the year, and was delivered and installed in October 2010. It is a cross-beam workstation; therefore it combines a high resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM) with the precision milling and nanofabrication abilities of high resolution focused ion beam (FIB).

This instrument is multifunctional and can be used for SEM imaging, TEM lamella preparation, milling, cross-sectioning and imaging with either FIB or SEM. The instrument also has a charge compensation system which is used when imaging non-conductive samples or insulating materials without coating, as well as the STEM detector and Energy and Angle Selective EsB detector that allows an almost pure compositional image to be obtained by filtering out unwanted surface information. It also has kliendiek micromanipulator which is used for transferring the prepared lamella to the TEM grid and further characterize with the STEM without breaking the vacuum or taking the sample out.

The instrument has its applications in material analysis, life sciences and semiconductors.

Mr Thomas Malwela has recently been appointed as the instrument specialist, and will spend the next few months becoming more familiar with the instrument before attending advanced training. Dr Uli Kohl-Roscher from Germany spent at week at the Centre with additional Zeiss personnel setting up and calibrating the machine.

The two pictures show Muller Du Plessis (Zeiss) with Thomas and Dr  Ulrich Kohl-Roscher, as well as . Muller Du Plessis, Uli Kohl-Roscher, Suprakas Sinha Ray (NCNSM), Andrew Wilkinson (Zeiss) and Luc Harmsen (Zeiss).