NanoEarth LEO (Zeiss) 1550 SEM at Virginia Tech

LEO (Zeiss) 1550

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Zeiss LEO 1550 FEG SEM

Provenance: NanoEarth, Virginia Tech
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

• SEM scanning electron microscope

The LEO (Zeiss) 1550 is a high-spatial resolution SEM using a Schottky field emission (FEG) electron source, capable of resolution in 1-5 nm size range using an in-lens SED. It is used for high-resolution imaging of surfaces, qualitative assessment of the distribution of elements (by EDS), submicron structure analysis, and determination of crystal orientation and crystalline texture (by EBSD).

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Accelerating voltage: 100V to 30kV 
• Detectors: 1 × In-lens secondary electron (SED), 1 x Everhart-Thornley secondary electron (SED), 1 × Robinson-type back-scatter electron (BSED) 
• Secondary & backscattered electrons and x-rays, light (for Cathodoluminescence) and Electron Beam Induced current (EBIC) 
• Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS): Oxford INCA Energy E2H with INCAx-act 51-1385-005 Silicon Drift detector (SDD), Energy Resolution Mn K – 133eV, detection B - U, 0.1 - 1 at% 
• HKL Nordlys II Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) system, including a Forward Scatter Electron (FSE) detector 
• Spatial resolution
• High-vacuum
  1.0nm at 20kV
  2.5nm at 1kV

NOTE: the effectiveness of low Accelerating voltage operation depends heavily on the nature of a sample.

More information and resources for Scanning Electron Microscopy are available on NanoEarth's website.

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Zeiss LEO 1550 FEG SEM Oxrod INCAx-act EDS Detector

Provenance: NanoEarth, Virginia Tech
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

• Submitted samples will be analyzed on a contract basis (i.e. lab personnel will do the work)
• Visitors are invited to work in the lab to work with lab personnel
• Visitors are invited to work in the lab to design and do the work yourself
• Users who wish to use an NCFL instrument without the supervision of an NCFL instrument specialists must complete the appropriate Training Sessions and become an approved operator. Training Sessions cover instrument operation and safety procedures as well as techniques for obtaining useful information. Training sessions are scheduled by appointment with an instrument specialist and include charges for the instrument and staff time. The total time needed for an individual to show competence on the instrument will be determined by the Instrument Specialist.

Current instrument rates available online: https://www.ncfl.ictas.vt.edu/policies.html

Remote operation is not possible.

Sample preparation is dependent on the specific sample and can be discussed with an instrumentation specialist.

NanoEarth loves to host groups for demonstrations, workshops, tours, and other educational uses of the lab. Please contact NanoEarth@vt.edu to discuss opportunities.

• Class demonstrations are available for undergraduates
• Class demonstrations are available for K-12
• Undergraduate student research projects are invited
• Graduate student research projects are invited

The NCFL receives support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) program. NSF support is vital to maintain the high quality of our facility and we strongly ask that you acknowledge their contribution in your publications and presentations that result, in full or part, from using our facilities.

In the case of regular users:

This work was performed in part at the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory, which is supported by the Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth), a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), supported by NSF (ECCS 1542100 and ECCS 2025151).

In the case of users who received financial support (e.g., mini-grants, MUNI):

This work was supported by the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory and the Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth), a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), supported by NSF (ECCS 1542100 and ECCS 2025151).