Lot 1

Ion Milling system

General specifications:

- Ion milling system for TEM samples with 2 guns;

- Gun angle can be adjusted within ± 10°, for each gun independently, even during the milling process;

- Sector milling over a range of 5° and 90°;

- Sector milling variation with increments of 0.1º;

- 2 penning ion guns each independently adjustable gas control utilizing mass flow controllers to allow either rapid milling or slow precise ion polishing;

- Current in each gun can be adjusted within the range 0 to 100 µA;

- 10” colour touch screen with control software and ability to create and save recipes with the different milling parameters during a process;

- Current should be measurable for each gun independently and measured at the gun and not a on a Faraday cup located past the sample;

- Airlock for sample change with automatic shutter to avoid contamination of the viewing window. Sample is illuminated in reflection and transmission with adjustable intensity through the touch screen;

- The microscope is compatible with a digital camera;

- Oil-free vacuum system, with a 2-stage diaphragm backing a turbo drag pump with a minimum capacity of 80l/s;

- Work chamber base pressure 5x10-6Torr and operating pressure 8x10-5Torr. Penning gauge shall monitor the chamber vacuum;

- XY stage for selecting the milling area;

- Cooling stage with electronic control of the temperature between -180°C up to 100°C;

- Dewar and conductor rod should share the main vacuum system;

- Built in Dewar heater;

- 6-8 hour Dewar capacity;

- Sample holder and guns must allow milling above and below sample at the same time;

- Sample size: 3 or 2.3 mm.

Valuable specifications:

- Ion beam energy must have as a minimum 0.1keV and maximum of 8.0 keV;

- Spot size less then 2 mm in diameter at any energy of the guns;

- Beam modulation: single gun, double gun or off;

- Through the inactive sectors when using beam modulation rotation speed should be 12 rpm;

- Power consumption during operation less than 200 W and 100 W with guns off.

Ultrasonic disc cutter:

- Cuts simple holes, unique shapes or transmission electron microscope (TEM) discs from hard or brittle materials;

- Sample Size: < 1-10 mm;

- Sample Thickness: < 0.04-5 mm;

- XY stage for centering the sample;

- Manual tuned frequency driver.

Grinder system:

- Produces parallel sided samples in the microns range;

- Parallel sided discs of 50µm thickness;

- Specimen diameter.

Lot 2

Cryo Ultramicrotome

General specifications:

- High stability mechanical drive system for specimen advance and cutting;

- Cutting stroke from 0.1 mm to 15 mm;

- Numeric and digital displays of number of sections cut, total specimen feed advanced, section thickness, cutting speed and specimen feed remaining;

- Bright LED approach backlight with independent LED specimen transillumination/spotlight for specimen localization;

- Electronic stepping control for automatic specimen advance/return;

- 5 memory channels to store frequently used cutting and trimming parameters;

- Built-in diagnostic and set-up routines;

- Built-in report generator and data base with specimen parameter recall mode;

- On-screen measurements of specimen and knife with built-in VIA digital micrometer system;

- Auto thin sectioning from 5 nm;

- Auto thick sectioning to 15 μm;

- 1 nm incremental steps for ultra, semi thin sectioning and block facing;

- Dual footswitch control for switch control for semi thin (or trim) and ultra-thin sectioning;

- Cutting speed range from 0.1 – 99.9 mm/sec in 0.1 mm/sec. increments with digital display;

- Mechanical advance with digital linear scale control;

- Specimen auto feed 200 microns;

- Variable return speed over entire cutting speed range;

- High-precision, manually operated knife stage with positive micrometer control of the N-S, E-W knife position;

- Stereomicroscope 7.7:1 zoom range, 6.5x to 50x magnification with 10x WF (23 mm) eyepieces;

- Built-in ergonocmic swivel away hand rest for restful section manipulation;

- Anti vibration table;

- Table-top 12 L Dewar for 5 hours operation;

- Cryochamber heaters are individually controlled by adjusting heater power levels for particular applications;

- Workstation surrounds without touching the cryo chamber. Hands do not get cold and sectioning is not disturbed;

- Invar metal specimen arm for thermal stability for improved sectioning consistency;

- Video option can be added at any time and can be controlled by the PC.

Valuable specifications:

- Power driven cutting stroke for the hardest specimen and largest block;

- Scan and tilt Single control knob for quickly scanning the entire knife edge and sectioning area;

- Ergonomic stereomicroscope system with constant radial focus, eucentric tilt control adjustment;

- PC controlled cryo-ultramicrotome supplied complete with all in one, slim design computer, "Touch Screen" control monitor 21.5’.

Knive maker:

- Compatible with commercial glass strips ranging from 6 to 8 mm in thickness;

- Able to produce glass knives for cryo ultramicrotomy;