Company Announcements

Techcomp announced in January that it is the exclusive distributor of Scientific Analysis Instruments’ MiniSIMS (secondary ion MS) in China, including Hong Kong.

FEI entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement in January with the NIH, creating a “Living Lab Structural Biology Center” to promote structural biology research through the integration of cryo-electron microscopy, NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The research program will utilize FEI’s Titan Krios transmission electron microscope.

FEI named Dr. Homa Bahrami, senior lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and Jami K. Nachtsheim, a 20-year veteran of Intel, to its Board in February.

Product Introductions

JPK Instruments released the QI quantitative imaging mode for its NanoWizard3 atomic force microscope. The force curve-based imaging mode allows for full control over the tip-sample force at every pixel of the image.

FEI’s Natural Resources Business Unit announced in January a “core-to-pore” petrography workflow for its SEMs for core analysis of unconventional gas reservoirs. It includes MAPS (Modular Automated Processing System) imaging software, a QEMSCAN petrographic analyzer and a specific sample preparation method.

In January, NT-MDT introduced the SOLVER Nano scanning probe microscope, a compact, affordable system, featuring a 100 µm x 100 µm closed-loop scanner.

TESCAN launched the Integrated Mineral Analyzers, a fully automated, high-throughput analytical scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the mining and minerals-processing industry, featuring an integrated energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer system.

JEOL introduced the FE SEM JSM-7100F, which has a resolution of 1.2 nm (30 kV), 3.0 nm (1 kV) and 3.0 nm (25 kV, probe current 5 nA). It features a 45% reduction in electric power consumption from its predecessor.

In April, JEOL released the JCM-6000 NeoScope, a touch panel–controlled desktop SEM, featuring enhanced low-vacuum capabilities, dual-frame imaging and magnification from 10 to 60,000x.

In February, MoBiTec launched a line of high-end imaging tools and accessories for cell culture, light and fluorescence microscopy.

In March, Carl Zeiss launched the AURIGA Laser, an advanced system combing the advantages of the AURIGA CrossBeam (focused ion beam/SEM) workstation with the capabilities of a pulsed micro-focus laser for fast ablation of materials. It features a scanning laser from TRUMPF and a separate chamber for laser operation.

EDAX launched a global service maintenance program in March under the AMETEK Materials Analysis Division AMECARE Performance Services portfolio.