The vacuum pump we expected to arrive today won’t be here until (hopefully!) tomorrow. So the FESEM will be down for another day.
I’ll update you as I have more information.
FE-SEM in Electron Optics
A vacuum pump has failed so the microscope cannot be used until it is replaced. The new pump will be here tomorrow and I should be able to get the microscope back online then.
The FESEM cannot be used!
Look for updates.
The intermittent vacuum display problem reappeared this morning. The manufacturer has given me a few tests to make. I’ll do that and report the information. Hopefully we will isolate the problem and make a repair. I will restart the system which in the past worked for a period of time. I’ll restart the system and it should be ready to operate by 1pm today.
I got the EDS system working again. I’ll keep an eye on it to make sure it stays on.
One thing that will help is do not acquire data with the chamber camera turned on.
It is okay to use it now.
The vacuum shut off on the FESEM. I’ve restarted it but it will be an hour or more until the vacuum fully recovers
I’m working with Hitachi to get service.
The FESEM is back online this morning. The vacuum has recovered.
This problem – the vacuum panel shutting off – has occurred a few times but it comes back on. It is hard for the service engineer to repair the problem when it comes back and works fine.
So, the scope is online and ready to use.
The vacuum system shut off on the FESEM. I’m getting it back under vacuum but it will take overnight to pump back down properly. Please reschedule.
I’ll send out another message tomorrow about the system status.