August 8, 2007 — FEI Company has introduced what it calls its “latest and most powerful scanning electron microscope (SEM),” the Nova NanoSEM 30. This high-end, versatile field emission SEM series, which consists of three instruments, features new low kV performance for enhanced surface characterization, high current for compositional analysis capabilities and, according to FEI, the world’s only high-resolution operation in low vacuum to characterize uncoated and even insulating samples.

The Nova NanoSEM 30 enables the characterization and analysis of a large range of samples, including demanding ones such as nanoparticles; insulating substrates such as glass; or polymers, porous materials, metals and composites.

Beyond its new imaging and analytical performance, the NOVA NanoSEM 30 series also enables novel prototyping capabilities based on electron beam lithography, electron beam induced deposition, and in-situ experimentation for manipulation and testing.

The three instruments of the Nova NanoSEM 30 Series owe their performance to newly introduced Schottky gun and beam deceleration technologies. The 230 and 430 systems feature 50 x 50 mm and 100 x 100 mm 5-axis motorized stages, respectively. The 630 system is equipped with a 5-axis high precision and stability 150 x 150 mm piezo stage.

“The Nova NanoSEM 30 series “brings unprecedented capabilities to researchers in the nanotechnology space, delivering best performance in characterization and prototyping tasks for a wide variety of nanomaterials and devices,” said Dominique Hubert, vice president of FEI’s NanoResearch division.