FEI Quanta 650 QEMSCAN

The Quanta 650 ESEM housed in the Williamson Building is a unique and all-round workhorse for a variety of applications in environmental and materials science. It is equipped with a field emission gun (FEG) enabling the acquisition of sub-micron scale images of a wide range of samples. The Quanta 650 ESEM features a large chamber volume for a variety of sample sizes and a motorised 5-axis stage (X, Y, Z, Tilt and Rotate) with 150 x 150 x 70 mm travel in X, Y and Z, allowing for the analysis of sample sizes and weights ranging from microns to centimetres and grams to kilograms. It has the capability to operate under traditional high vacuum mode for viewing conductive and coated samples in SE (ETD detector) and BSE (4-ring concentric BSD); low vacuum mode for imaging non-conductive, uncoated or vacuum-sensitive samples in SE (LFD detector) and BSE (4-ring BSD) and ‘ESEM’ or ‘wet’ mode for analysis of uncoated, hydrated samples in SE (GSED) ad BSE (GBSD). It features a beam deceleration module for varying the landing energy and enhanced low-kV work.

The Quanta 650 ESEM has a smorgasbord of features to enhance its analytical capabilities. It is equipped with a high-resolution (129 eV @ Mn Kα) Bruker XFlash® 6 | 30 SDD with 30 mm2 active area and 600 kcps max. throughput for versatile and rapid EDS performance. It is capable of performing automated large area maps at microns per pixel resolution and fully quantitative, standards-based analysis for determining chemical compositions. The Quanta 650 ESEM is also equipped with the ThermoFisher/FEI MAPS software to provide high-resolution, automated multi-field BSE image acquisition and QEMSCAN automated phase analysis software for high throughput bulk mineralogy, chemical assay and textural analysis.

Unique to this ESEM is the additional capability brought by the Bruker Quantax µXRF source, adding X-ray induced-ionization to the standard electron-induced ionization. The µXRF source gives high sensitivity, in the range of 10s ppm vs. the typical 1000s ppm for e-beam EDS, for higher Z elements, allowing the detection of elements otherwise invisible to standard e-beam EDS.

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