It has been well documented that low energy plasmas can be used to reactively etch or remove organic materials found on the surface of inorganic materials. This technology has been used by the industrial community to clean semiconductor wafers and optical materials for many years. A related technique is now being implemented in the field of electron microscopy, where specimens can become contaminated during the preparation process or from other sources. Current analytical instruments use tightly focused, intense beams that create carbon deposits on the specimen surface due to organic contamination. The PC2000 is designed to simultaneously clean the specimen and specimen stage, which minimizes, and in many cases, eliminates contamination of the specimen being analyzed. The specimen holder and specimen are subjected to reactive gas plasma prior to electron microscope analysis.

The Model 595 BiPod Polisher™ is a variation of the well known Tripod Polisher®. The BiPod Polisher™ is designed with flats on all sides which make it more suitable for viewing under a standard upright stereo microscope and also simplifies adapting the polisher for semiautomatic SEM cross sectioning. The BiPod Polisher™ is used in the same way as the Tripod Polisher® with the exception of it having only 2 feet and those feet being controlled by precision machined screws instead of micrometers. The BiPod Polisher™ can also be mounted easily onto either the Model 910 or Model 920 Lapping and Polishing machine with the appropriate yoke for semiautomatic polishing. The BiPod Polisher™ uses the same sample mounts as the Tripod Polisher® and the polishing procedure is essentially the same. The BiPod Polisher™ is capable of being used for both SEM cross sectioning and TEM Wedge polishing.

The Model IBS/e is a high vacuum thin film deposition system designed to precisely deposit sub-nanometer grain, conductive coatings onto specimens prior to examination in the electron microscope. Thin, conductive films are deposited onto specimens to prevent charging effects and to enhance contrast. Thin films are deposited using two ion beam sources directed at a target material, eliminating radiation or heating effects common with other coating techniques. Extremely thin, continuous metal or carbon films are deposited without risking damage to delicate features present on the specimen. Virtually any target material can be used for ion beam deposition with precise control over the deposition thickness. An optional third ion source allows specialized ion beam etching techniques to be employed. The ability to deposit amorphous, continuous films makes the IBS/e system ideal for high resolution electron microscopy techniques.

The RIE 2000/3000 Reactive Ion Etcher is specifically designed for anisotropic etching of microelectronic devices. This R&D sized instrument is designed to simulate the operation of larger production instruments in process development and pilot production applications. The RIE 2000/3000 is a turbo pumped system capable of reaching a base pressure of less than 10-6 torr. This low base pressure provides a clean etch environment and highly anisotropic etch without undercutting by eliminating residual species within the chamber prior to starting the etch process. The RIE-2000 model include as standard a two channel precision needle valve gas control and separate vent to atmosphere line. In replacement of the needle valve set up, the RIE-2000 can be equipped with up to two mass flow controller channels for accurate ratio of two species. The RIE-3000 can be equipped with up to five mass flow controller channels and in this case, the MFC controls are mounted into a stand alone cabinet connected to the main system. The RIE-3000 can ratio four process gas species to one species, if needed, or control the flows of each species independently. The rotational speed of the turbo pump can be controlled in order to set a precise pressure with the set mass flows.