SEM Automation and Software Options

Phenom desktop SEM - EDS map of an electronic chip
Tabletop SEM image of tin spheres
MeteoriteEDSmap

Meteorite EDS Map

LilyPollen

Lily Pollen

Integrated circuit EDS map

Integrated Circuit EDS Map

Tin spheres

Tin Spheres

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Fully Automated Particle Analysis

Tabletop SEM image and automated particle detection
Unlock the full power of the Phenom platform with Perception, a software suite for automating particle detection, analysis, and report. Select a sample region, choose from pre-made recipes (or make your own), and click go. The system will:

  1. Scan sample at low resolution with the backscatter detector looking for bright spots, i.e. particles
  2. Zoom in on the particle, capture a high resolution image, and run an EDS analysis
  3. Classify the particle according to morphology, elemental composition, or both
  4. Process the data and generate a customized report

Perception enables you to spend just a few minutes to setup an automated run that controls all aspects of the SEM for hours at a time. Though the customization possibilities are endless, the software comes pre-configured for certain key applications:

Additive manufacturing: size, shape, composition, and agglomeration of powdered materials for 3D printing
Technical cleanliness: analyze a filter to get quantitative estimates of part cleanliness
Steel cleanliness: analyze steel lollipops to get the ternary diagram of inclusions
Gunshot residue: Find GSR candidate particles that are sufficiently round and contain Sn/Pb/Sb

Learn more about automated particle analysis with ParticleX

Quantitative Image Analysis

Image analysis software can extract actionable data about the size and shape of features in an SEM image. Our programs, developed specifically for the Phenom, massively increase data throughput and eliminate the user bias that can skew manual measurements. Programs are available for:

  • Particle size and morphology
  • Pore size and morphology
  • Fiber diameter and orientation
  • 3D surface reconstruction

These programs can be combined with automatic image acquisition features—free with every Phenom—to create statistically significant data in very little time.

Pore size analysis software for tabletop SEM

Particle/Pore Analysis
Size distribution and morphology
Particle size analysis with tabletop SEM
ParticleMetric
Fiber Analysis
Fiber diameter and orientation
Fiber size analysis with benchtop SEM
FiberMetric
3D Reconstruction
See and measure surface roughness
Pore size analysis software for tabletop SEM
3D Reconstruction

 

Custom Solutions for Tabletop SEM

Tabletop SEM scripting with Python
For problems that cannot be solved with off-the-shelf software, create fully custom Python programs to automate data acquisition. The Phenom Programming Interface (PPI) offers total control of your SEM, and can be coupled with any other Python commands or packages.Use PPI to automate the following functions:

  • Navigation and stage movement
  • Beam settings and image optimization
  • Image acquisition
  • Image processing via external Python packages

Phenom Programming Interface
 

21 CFR Part 11 Compliance

Pharmaceutical manufacturers and many other organizations must comply with the FDA’s requirements for data security. 21 CFR Part 11 stipulates that a piece of data is traceable to a time, place, and person. To meet this need, we have partnered with Quartz Imaging to utilize their Quartz PCI/CFR software. This package is designed specifically to help microscopes meet the requirements of Part 11.

Images from the microscope are acquired directly by the Quartz software. Users can post-process the image, then electronically sign the data and export a PDF. This process significantly reduces the complexity of the standard operating procedures for data integrity requirements.

Phenom With Quartz PCI/CFR