coating Archives - Quorum Technologies Ltd

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Electron microscopy techniques rely on the transfer of electrons between sample and microscope. For conductive samples, this is easily achieved – however, non-conductive, or poorly conducting samples must be coated with an electrically conductive coating to produce usable images. A high-quality coating is essential to obtain high-quality images. Quorum Technologies developed the Q Plus Series to provide researchers with a versatile and high-performance coating to rival major manufacturers, without the associated price tag.  

The Role of Coatings in Electron Microscopy

Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) work similarly to Optical Microscopes but rather than probing materials using light, they use electrons. Optical microscopes are diffraction-limited (to a maximum resolution of about 200 nm) whereas electron microscopes can produce beams of electrons with much smaller wavelenght1 and surpass the resolving power of optical microscopes by several orders of magnitude. As a result, they are the most powerful microscopy techniques in the world.

Using electrons instead of light, however, introduces other complications. Both techniques (SEM and TEM) rely on the transfer of electrons between sample and microscope; therefore, it can be difficult (or near impossible) to obtain a usable image signal from samples with poor or no conductivity. This is especially true of SEM, where samples are bombarded with an electron beam: poorly conductive or non-conductive samples will rapidly accumulate charge under these conditions, leading to image distortion as well as thermal and radiation damage to the sample. In extreme cases, the sample may accumulate sufficient charge to decelerate the primary beam, acting as an “electron mirror” and preventing an image altogether.2

To overcome this, poorly conducting samples are coated with a thin layer of metal or carbon. This makes the surface conductive, eliminating charge accumulation and enabling a better signal to be obtained by the microscope. Coating techniques are widely used for imaging biological or organic samples since these are typically non-conductive and easily damaged by the electron beam.

While the primary role of coating in SEM is to increase electrical conductivity and prevent “charging”, it also has several other useful effects:

  • Coating a sample with a thermally conductive material such as gold, silver, copper, aluminium can reduce thermal damage from the primary electron beam.
  • Particulate matter and fragile organic samples can be mechanically stabilized and held in place by a thin layer of carbon.
  • Coating organic samples that contain trapped gas or moisture protects both sample and microscope from being contaminated by off-gassing.
  • Metallic coatings can be used to minimize the volume of penetration of the electron beam, localizing scanning to the very surface of a sample. This can also dramatically increase the emission of secondary and backscattered electrons.

Download our Guide to Coating for Electron Microscopy Here

 

The Impact of Coating Quality

When working with a coated sample in an electron microscope, it is the coating itself that gets directly imaged. The quality of the coating, therefore, places a hard limit on the quality of the images that can be obtained.

When imaging very small structures (such as electrospinning fibres doped with copper nanocrystals), depositing a coating that is too thick can easily bury meaningful information. It is vital that coating thickness can be precisely controlled and tailored to the features that are being interrogated.3

In the worst cases, poor quality coating equipment introduces contamination and can irreparably damage samples. Researchers often opt for cheap coaters to save money, only to find that their costs increase due to additional microscope time and ruined samples.

However, thanks to the Q Plus Series from Quorum Technologies, it is no longer necessary to pay a premium to obtain state-of-the-art coatings.

The Q Plus Series: Affordable and High-Quality Coating

The Q Plus Series is the latest iteration of Quorum’s world-leading range of coaters; offering cutting-edge sputter and evaporation coating in a single easy-to-use platform. Quorum’s turbomolecular-pumped coaters are suitable for both oxidizing and non-oxidizing metals, while our low-cost rotary-pumped sputter coaters are suitable for non-oxidizing metals. The Q Plus Series is suitable for sputter coating and evaporating carbon coating for SEM, FE-SEM and TEM applications.

This new range of coaters is designed to enable researchers to exercise precise control over coating thickness, whatever their application requirements. For the highest level of performance, the Q150V Plus provides an ultimate vacuum of 10-6 mbar; removing oxygen, nitrogen and water vapour from the chamber and eliminating chemical reactions during the sputtering process. The Q150V Plus also enables the production of finer grain size and thinner coating for ultra-high-resolution applications (beyond 200,000x magnification). Low scattering enables the formation of high-purity amorphous carbon films of high density.

All models in the Q Plus Series feature a touch-screen interface as well as status LEDs and audio notifications for straightforward and intuitive control. Integrated 16 GB memory allows the storage of over 1000 recipes to be stored, and a USB port enables upgrades and downloads of log files.

To find out more about the Q Plus Series of coaters, view our brochure or get in touch with us today.

To view our latest webinars on coating technologies, we invite you to view our series here:
  1. Practical advice in sample preparation for SEM
  2. How to achieve appropriate metal coating quality for my application
  3. Carbon coatings and Glow Discharge for TEM

 

 

 

References and Further Reading

  1. The Diffraction Barrier in Optical Microscopy. Nikon’s MicroscopyU https://www.microscopyu.com/techniques/super-resolution/the-diffraction-barrier-in-optical-microscopy.
  2. Goldstein, J. I. et al. Coating Techniques for SEM and Microanalysis. in Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis: A Text for Biologist, Materials Scientist, and Geologists (eds. Goldstein, J. I. et al.) 461–494 (Springer US, 1981). doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-3273-2_10.
  3. Ahire, J. J., Neveling, D. P. & Dicks, L. M. T. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibres spun with copper nanoparticles: an anti-Escherichia coli membrane for water treatment. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102, 7171–7181 (2018).

 


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To all our customers, suppliers, and partners,

I hope that you, your family and friends are safe and well in these unprecedented times. I wanted to update you concerning the measures that Quorum Technologies has put in place to counter the impact of the pandemic on our business and how we are continuing to support users of Quorum equipment.

Quorum Technologies remained open for business throughout the pandemic, thanks to the flexibility and cooperation of our staff and the continued support of our customers and suppliers. Thank you for helping us to make it this far.

One of the reasons we felt it essential to keep operating was that our sample preparation equipment for Electron Microscopes was seen as a key technology for essential medical research. I am proud to say that, during the lockdown, we provided support and equipment to customers who are directly involved in research into the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and hopefully contributed in a small way towards eventually beating this virus.

Communication during the pandemic:

Our production sites in Laughton and Lewes were closed to external visitors at the start of lockdown. We have now opened again, with some restrictions:

  • All visits are by appointment only.
  • Instead of visiting the factory, your contact at Quorum may suggest off-site alternatives.
  • If you do come to the factory, you will be required to comply with social-distancing measures, wear a face-mask, and follow strict guidelines on handwashing and sanitisation of work areas.

Many of our staff were directed to work from home, in keeping with the instructions issued by the U.K. government, or were furloughed during the lockdown. We have reorganised our offices and put in place additional measures to comply with guidelines for a CoViD-secure workplace and are now recalling staff to full-time work. Some back-office staff will continue to work from home but will be contactable as normal.

When contacting Quorum by phone, please use the main switchboard number, +44 (0) 1323 810981, and your call will be redirected to the appropriate number.

While we have been lucky in that no one at Quorum has yet contracted CoViD-19, the virus is still circulating in the U.K., and we may have unplanned absences due to illness or quarantine. For that reason, we cannot guarantee that individual staff members will always be available, and we continue to ask that you direct your calls and emails to teams, rather than to individuals, to enable a prompt response.

Our team emails are:

Accounts receivable/payable:         [email protected] 

Procurement:                                   [email protected]

Product sales:                                  [email protected]

Technical support:                            [email protected]

Supply of goods

Our Purchasing team has been working closely with our suppliers to ensure a continued supply of key parts, but there has been some disruption in supply chains which has impacted some of our older instruments. We are currently unable to guarantee lead-times for the following products:

K975X/K975S Turbo-Pumped Thermal Evaporators

K750X Peltier-Cooled EM Freeze Dryer

K775X Liquid Nitrogen Cooled Turbo-Pumped EM Freeze Dryer

K1050X RF Plasma Etcher/Asher/Cleaner

Customers with an urgent need to guarantee supply should contact the sales team as soon as possible to discuss. You can reach our sales team via the main switchboard number or by emailing them at [email protected].

Field service and installations

We have resumed field service activities, subject to complying with CoViD-secure guidelines. If you want to schedule a visit by our service engineers, you will be asked to provide information on the measures in place at your facility so we can conduct a risk assessment before scheduling a visit.

Unfortunately, our ability to travel overseas continues to be constrained by travel bans in certain countries and by the need to comply with quarantine requirements in others. We recognise that our equipment can be vital to research and we will travel where we can, but it may not be possible in every case. For example, if your country has a prohibition on visitors from the U.K. or requires an extended period of quarantine on arrival, we would be unable to schedule a field visit. Where travel is not possible, we will do our best to offer remote support by phone or email.

You can reach our service team via the main switchboard number or by emailing them at [email protected].

Thank you again for your support throughout this difficult period. We are, more than ever, grateful for that support and proud of the fact that you choose to work with us. I will update you again if we make further changes but please do not hesitate to contact me in the meantime if you have any concerns or questions.

Thank you for working with Quorum Technologies.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Larkin

Managing Director
Quorum Technologies Ltd


UNITED KINGDOM

Headquarters

Judges House, Lewes Road,
Laughton, East Sussex.
BN8 6BN

+44 1323 810981

www.quorumtech.com

[email protected]

UNITED KINGDOM

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