The electron source used in the Merlin is a thermal field emission cathode, known as a Schottky emitter (ZrO / W cathode). Thanks to the filament voltage (Fil I), ZrO diffuses towards the cathode tip, reducing the electron workload from 4.6 eV to 2.8 eV. Depending on the cathode temperature and the field intensity measured at the cathode tip, generated by the emitter electrode potential, an equilibrium is established which stabilizes the operation of the field emission cathode source.
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Resolution (measurements taken on a gold sample on Plano S1969 carbon with a scan speed of 3 and x60 line averaging) |
1.0 nm at 15 kV at optimum working distance 2.1 nm at 1 kV at optimum working distance 3.0 nm at 0.2 kV at optimum working distance 3.0 nm at 20 kV and 10 nA at working distance WD = 8.5 mm |
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Acceleration voltage |
0.02kV to 30 kV |
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Probe current |
10 pA to 300 nA |
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Magnification |
x12 to x 2,000,000 compared with a Polaroid reference |
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Working distance |
from 1.5 mm to 50 mm |
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Chamber dimensions |
inside diameter 330 mm height 270 mm |
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Platinum stage |
X/Y =130 mm Z = 50 mm T = -3° to +70 360° continuous rotation |
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Maximum sample weight |
500 g |
The Merlin features three imaging detectors:
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Inlens |
SE2 |
AsB |
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Electron type |
Secondary |
Secondary |
Backscattered |
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Special features |
Low magnification shadings (<200); Sensitive surface carbon pollution |
Suitable for low magnification; Not suitable for low WD; |
Features gain adjustment in addition to brightness and contrast; Often requires a higher current and/or lower sweep speed than the other two. |
The Merlin features an EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray) probe with the following characteristics:
Crystal Silicon Drift 50 mm² nominal active surface;
SATW light element window for detection of elements from beryllium to uranium.
The Merlin features a WDX (Wavelength Dispersive X-ray) spectrometer, which uses standards to quantify the elements present in the sample, particularly light elements or those in very low concentrations (<1%). The spectrometer also features a 6-crystal turret, covering a wide range of wavelengths from 0.07 keV to 10.84 keV.
The Merlin allows EBSD acquisition thanks to its Nordlys II S camera, also from Oxford Instruments. It is located on the right side of the microscope chamber. This camera features front-mounted detectors for imaging, called FSDs (ForeScatter Detectors). They will reveal the grain and sub-grain structure of the inclined sample.
The Merlin SEM can also be fitted with a heated microtraction stage to observe microstructures in real time during mechanical testing of samples.
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