SEM Quick Start
Revision No.2
May 2014
Page 9 of 16
operator is comfortable with.
Be sure to select the TV detector channel
while making changes to the working distance.
The larger control stick on the right is responsible for moving the
stage through three degrees of freedom. As depicted on the control board,
actuating the stick in the up/down-left/right directions move the stage
along the corresponding x and y axes. The stick can also be rotated along
its shaft to similarly rotate the stage through the axis normal to the x-y
plane.
It is important to note that the velocity at which the stage moves in
any of these directions is inversely proportional to the currently selected
magnification level of the microscope. Put more simply, as one increases
the magnification, the control sticks become more precise, moving the
stage much more slowly.
1.3.3
Stage Control Using SmartSEM’s Stage Navigation
It is often the case that finding the specific sample of interest is too
cumbersome using the analog controls on the
SEM Stage Control
board.
Here the Stage Navigation tool is a very useful aid. The
Stage Navigation
tool can be launched from the docking side-panel seen on the right of the
main viewing window. Click the arrow on the panel to expand it and then
double-click the item labelled
Stage Navigation
. The window that opens
shows both a side and top-down view of the currently selected carousel
relative to the electron beam. It is important to make sure that the carousel
that is currently in use is the one selected in the
Sample Holder
dropdown
near the bottom right of the window. Once properly selected, finding the
right sample is as easy as double-clicking on the appropriate label in the
top-down carousel view. Again, it is important to have the TV detector
channel selected before moving the stage by large amounts, as is common
while using the
Stage Navigation
tool.
Once the sample of interest is roughly in line of the electron beam,
it is customary to revert back to using the
SEM Stage Control
board for
further adjustments.