Thermo Scientific Spectra Ultra STEM

The Thermo Scientific Spectra Ultra is a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) that offers structural and chemical insight on a wide range of materials at atomic-scale resolution.

The product provides the flexibility to optimise conditions for imaging and analysis in minutes versus hours. To fast-track materials research and improve throughput, users can rapidly adjust accelerating voltage with high stability. This should enable investigation of an extended range of samples, minimise beam damage and reduce tool optimisation overhead.

The device includes an energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis system, the Thermo Scientific Ultra-X, with what is claimed to be the largest detector area available in a commercially released STEM. Combined with the objective lens design, the EDX detector architecture makes it possible to capture X-rays twice as fast as other commercial solutions, the company claims, allowing the analysis of more beam-sensitive materials and samples with previously undetectably low concentrations of trace elements.

The product has high imaging sensitivity with the ability to measure single electrons, enabling the high-resolution characterisation of soft materials. It provides atomic-level analysis for the fundamental development and improvement of materials. The optional super high brightness X-CFEG (Cold FEG) emitter, when combined with the Spectra Ultra, helps deliver high imaging contrast and analytical capabilities.

The minimal electron dose and time needed for EDX enables atomic-level analysis of beam-sensitive specimens. The flexibility to optimise imaging and analytical conditions in a single experiment means fast 3D characterisation of both hard and soft materials within one sample, accelerating product development research. With high throughput and detector collection efficiency, multiuser facilities can offer good accessibility for a broad variety of projects.