Design of the VG HB603 300kV Field-Emission STEM

Abstract

A new generation of UHV field-emission STEMs operating at up to 300 kV has been designed by VG Microscopes. The design philosophy of these instruments has been to improve further the analytical performance achieved by 100 kV cold field-emission STEMs, such as the VG HB501 series.There are three types of instrument with a common basic design:HB603: an analytical STEM with optimised X-ray microanalysis (0.3srad collection angle per detector) and parallel/serial electron energy-loss facilities;HB603U: a high-resolution STEM with optimised high-angle dark-field detection and < 0.13 nm resolution;HB603S: a full UHV STEM with Auger analyser and specimen preparation facilities at 3 × 10-10 mbar pressure throughout the instrument.