FEI Helios Nanolab G3 CX DualBeam FIB-SEM

The FEI Helios Nanolab G3 CX DualBeam FIB/SEM was installed in October 2015 and incorporates several advanced technologies that are the first of their kind in Australia.

It is the third generation of FEI's Helios Nanolab Ultra High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technology, offering sub-nanometre resolution electron beam imaging over a large operating voltage range, 3D (volumetric) imaging, site-specific sample preparation and nano-fabrication capabilities.

The instrument is equipped with an array of in-lens, in-column, and chamber detectors, bright field, dark field and high angle annular dark field STEM detectors, and an 80mm2 Oxford Instruments X-Max SDD EDX detector for microanalysis. Using FEI's MAPS imaging software, automatic acquisition of large images and correlative workflows, for example combining optical microscopy and SEM, are made possible.

This facility was funded through the Australian Research Council (LIEF grant LE150100006), with support from UWA, Curtin, Murdoch, ECU, Sydney University and CSIRO.