News


Please bookmark THIS PAGE instead the scheduling page and keep up to date with important FIB issues!
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January 3, 2008

Dear FIB users,
Joel Pikarsky has taken over the FIB center operator position. Joel Pikarsky is an expert in SEM and a perfect candidate for operating the FIB center. Until I am leaving Georgia Tech in May, I am available consulting for the FIB center.
Thank you for your cooperation.
I wish you all a Happy New Year!
Best regards,
Christine Kranz


October 31, 2007

Dear FIB users,
Moving the FIB systems to MIRC is completed and both systems are up and running! The center is reopened.
Please acknowledge following changes and familiarize yourself with rules and regulations at MIRC.
Scheduling is solely handled through: http://grover.mirc.gatech.edu/
If you provided me with your GT information and buzzcard# you should have received an email that you are member of the FIB users group. Your account for scheduling should be activated. It is mandatory to schedule your FIB use. ALL FIB2center rules remain in affect in addition to MIRC rules.
Access to room 160 (Petite building): In order to enter the room, you have to slide your buzzcard (lower card reader left side).
Log on to instrument: Use the card reader above (left side of door), slide card and choose the instrument you are going to use (Nova or Quanta).
After finishing your session, when LEAVING the room, remember that you have to slide your card again (inside the room, right of the door).
Log off from the instrument outside the room (left side of door).
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Thanks for your patience,
Christine





August 30, 2007

Dear Core PIs, dear Colleagues, dear FIB users:

after extensive discussions on the future of the FIB-Center at Georgia Tech beyond the NSF funding period and its sustained maintenance and growth, we are honored to announce that the FIB-Center will become a visible component of the Microelectronics Research Center (MiRC), and will relocate to the Petit Building, room 160.
Both FIB-SEM systems will be operated outside the Cleanroom, and full access for users, who do not require Cleanroom conditions (e.g., for TEM sample preparation) remains ensured at the same conditions currently established at the FIB-Center.
We are more than pleased with this development, as the diverse background of the MiRC users base will significantly expand and enhance the FIB users community on state-of-the-art nanofabrication and -characterization with FIB-SEM technology, which ideally complements the e-beam lithography system at MiRC. We anticipate that an even broader user base will now take advantage of FIB-SEM technology, while the already existing user community at the FIB-Center will benefit from the proximity to MiRC, and its rather outstanding selection of micro- and nanofabrication technologies.

In the past, IPST has served as location for the FIB-Center during the NSF:CRIF grant period, however, not with sufficient continuity to the standards required for operating these instruments 24/7 at the highest possible quality level. As system performance, accessibility, a broad user base, and sustained maintenance of these tools is our highest priority for the on-campus, off-campus, and industrial user community, it is essential to relocate these instruments to the MiRC building, where they will be embedded within an excellent multi-user infrastructure.
We hope that you will continue contributing to the expanding range of applications for FIB-SEM technology, and to the ongoing growth of the FIB Center at MiRC.

The move is planned for end of September 2007; therefore, the FIB-SEM systems will be down for approx. 2-4 weeks. Please plan accordingly. We will keep you posted on the precise downtime for the systems as the move progresses. However, we assure all users that we will make every effort in minimizing the impact on the accessibility of these essential research tools.

Please do not hesitate approaching Dr. Mizaikoff or Dr. Kranz with any questions you might have.

Boris Mizaikoff
Christine Kranz
Thomas Orlando
Kevin Martin
Jim Meindl



August 10, 2007

Dear FIB users:
There is a FIB training session scheduled for August 16, 2007.
The Nova is still marked down but should be up and running later today.
Thanks
Christine


May 30, 2007

Dear FIB users:
I will be out of town until July 20, 2007. If you have any problems, please contact Heungjoo Shin (gt7018b@mail.gatech.edu) or call his cell phone 404-934-6649.
Thanks
Christine


January 27, 2007

Dear FIB users:
I will be out of town until February 6, 2007. If you have any problems, please contact Heungjoo Shin (gt7018b@mail.gatech.edu) or call his cell phone 404-934-6649.
Thanks
Christine



October 1, 2006

Dear FIB users:
After the power outage yesterday, the Nova is up and running again!
Christine


September 30, 2006

Dear FIB users:
All back-ordered parts for the Quanta 3D arrived! The FEI service engineer will start on Monday to bring the system back to life!
Christine


September 19, 2006

Dear FIB users:
The Nova is finally up and running. Please do not use the system without scheduling. Ray Gault is still working on the Quanta 3D.
Christine


September 13, 2006

Dear FIB users:
Both systems are marked down. Ray Gault (experienced FEI engineer) is working on both systems.

Best regards,
Christine



September 05, 2006

Dear FIB users:

There will be a training session scheduled on September 15. Please inform anybody with potential interest.

Please record starting time and end time of your sessions on the log sheet!

Quanta: We are still waiting for the back-ordered part (!). FEI ensured they issued the "red card", which means we should have highest priority.
Nova: A user reported the "venting chamber problem " again; this was apparently not fixed during the last service call. Furthermore, the ion beam images are not crisp, the alignment however is good. The system can be used, however, high-resolution milling does not produce satisfying results. I spoke to two FEI engineers today and they assume a change in the L1 settings, which (again!) has to be fixed by the FEI engineer.
The service engineer is scheduled to come here today and look into the problems.

Best regards,
Christine



July 14, 2006

Dear FIB users:

Nova: Is up and running!
Quanta: Is marked down. There is a problem with the ion beam blanking. I opened the service call and Jim our service engineer will be here Monday morning. Please do not use the system before we send out another email.
I will be out of town for the next 4 weeks and Todd Walters was so kind to step in for this period. If you encounter any problems with the FIB systems please contact him: office phone: 404 385 7468, cell: 770 337 9367, email: todd.walters@mse.gatech.edu (best way to reach Todd is cell phone).
Also please be considerate and follow the FIB2center rules! Especially make sure that you put the system to sleep if nobody is directly using the system after you.
I have email access so if you have any questions or problems, which can not be solved, please feel free to contact me.
Best regards,
Christine



July 11, 2006

Dear FIB users:

Nova: The service engineers will come to Tech today. The Nova is marked down from noon today on until further notice. If you have scheduled time, please cancel.
Christine


July 7, 2006

Dear FIB users:
Quanta: A user reported problems with the ebeam. The filament was blown. I exchanged it and the Quanta 3D is up and running again.
Nova: We still wait for the service engineers from FEI to come to Georgia Tech. We hope they will come next week. According to FEI the repair will take a week, please plan accordingly.
Please don't forget to report any problems!
Christine


June 28, 2006

Dear FIB users:
The Quanta is up and running.
Nova: The system is still marked down. The service engineer could not fix the problem yesterday. We will have somebody else from FEI coming in
Christine


June 23, 2006

Dear FIB users:
The Quanta is down. The broken part is ordered.
Nova: The service engineer will come back today finalizing the alignment procedure. The system is NOT marked down, it can be booked and used until he arrives.

Christine



June 16, 2006

Dear FIB users:
Nova 200 is down. The service engineer will be here later today.
There will be a training session on June 22, 2006. 3 spots are still available.

Please respect the following rules:

- Put the system in Sleep Mode (Push sleep button, thereby switching off the heating of the ion gun) when nobody is signed in after you

- If you want to bring a visitor you have to get permission first!

- Whenever the XT Server program gives an ERROR message please make a note in the lab protocol AND send me an email with the error message and a brief description of what you were doing (e.g. what aperture you used, what pattern size you milled, etc.).

- Please leave the door UNLOCKED when you are IN the lab (so someone can enter without a key) and have them LOCKED when you are NOT IN the lab.

- We will implement a cost structure for the FIB2center very soon. Hence, it is absolutely mandatory to use the scheduling system. We had a lot scheduling violations lately. Please keep in mind that in future any time slots you have booked, however not used will still be charged!

Thanks for your cooperation,
Christine



May 18, 2006

Dear FIB users:
Nova 200 is marked down due to the power outage in the IPST building yesterday.
Thanks Christine



May 16, 2006

Dear FIB users:
I will be out of town from 05-18-2006 until 05-23-2006. In an emergency please contact Todd Walters: office phone: 404 385 7468, cell: 770 337 9367,email: todd.walters@mse.gatech.edu
Furthermore: I realized that some users have a lot of images on the microscope computer, please remove them after you have transfered them to the support computer.
Thanks Christine


April 26, 2006

Dear FIB users:
Good news! The Quanta is up and running again. Both systems are available again.
Christine


April 24, 2006
IMPORTANT:

Dear FIB users:
PLEASE READ THE MESSAGES POSTED ON THIS PAGE:

Nova 200: The Nova system is up and running again. Please remember you cannot use the system before it is authorized and marked on this webpage. If you don't follow this rule your access will be revoked.
Quanta 3D: A second service engineer arrived today. Hopefully they get the system up and running until Thursday.
Christine


April 21, 2006
IMPORTANT:

Dear FIB users:
The Nova system is marked down. The sample stage controller is malfunctioning (according to the service engineer). The part has been ordered today and a second service engineer will be here on Monday.
So both systems are down at the moment. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Christine



April 12, 2006
IMPORTANT:

Dear FIB users:
Software problem NOVA: Please do not upload saved pattern consisting of multiple polygons. Part of these patterns cannot be deleted anymore. Hence, the microscope server has to be stopped and the computer has to be rebooted.
As soon as I get a response from FEI concerning the problem, I will poste it. For the time being, please create a bitmap for complex milling structures.
Christine

April 11, 2006
IMPORTANT:

Dear FIB users:
Update Quanta: The system is still down. The FEI service engineer could not fix the problem. We will order a new part for the ion column today. Please frequently check this page for updates.
Christine


April 6, 2006
IMPORTANT:

Dear FIB users:
Update Quanta: The system is still marked down. The FEI service engineer is here and I will post a note as soon as it is up and running again. Please do not attempt to use the system before!.
Nova: The connection to the support computer is restored. Please report any problem (even if you think it is minor) to me so we can assure that during this transition time.
Thanks Christine
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March 29, 2006
IMPORTANT:

Dear FIB users:
The time has come and tomorrow will be my last official day as Chief operator of the FIBēCenter.
Thank you all again for a great time and an excellent cooperation.

Until the time that someone will take over my position please contact the following people if there are any questions regarding the FIBs:
Dr. Christine Kranz (Administration, Maintenance)
christine.kranz@chemistry.gatech.edu
Office: 404-385-1794
Cell: 404-936-5370

Todd Walters
todd.walters@mse.gatech.edu
Cell: 770-337-9367

Martin

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March 29, 2006
Update for the Quanta: the FEI service engineer will come in tomorrow. I hope I can give more information after that.

Martin
_______________________________________________
March 28, 2006
Dear FIB users: The problem with the ion gun on the Quanta has become worse. It does not start up anymore. Therefore the Quanta is down.

Martin
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March 21, 2006
IMPORTANT:

Dear FIB users,
please notice that the only persons allowed to train and instruct someone on the FIB instruments are official FIB2Center staff member. Those people are currently still Dr. Christine Kranz and me.
THERE IS NO EXEPTION!!!
If someone asks you as a FIB user for advise on a specific problem please make sure that the person asking for help is properly signed up in the scheduling system and can access the lab with his/her buzz card. This proves that this person signed off the complete training including protocol and 1. attended session.

THERE IS NO WAY TO SKIP WRITING THE PROTOCOL OR SKIPPING THE FIRST ATTENDED SESSION WITH SOMEONE OF THE FIB2CENTER STAFF MEMBER.

Without proberly signing off the complete training NO ONE is allowed to have access to the FIBs!!!

If two people get caught where on trained FIB person grants access to a non trained FIB person the privileges of FIB access will be revoked for both of them immediately!

Please keep in mind that we do have control who is accessing the instruments.

Martin
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March 21, 2006
Dear FIB users,

It has been a pleasure working with all of you for the last year.
However, it is time for me to move further on. I will be leaving Georgia Tech by the end of March and start a new job in April.
The responsibilities of the FIB2Center operation will be temporarily transfered to Dr. Christine Kranz, Todd Walters, and Dr. Yong Ding.
If you have any questions regarding the FIB instruments or want any further advise from my side please contact me as soon as possible.

Thanks again for a great time!

Martin
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March 20, 2006
The Nova is back up again and the 3us problem has been solved.

Martin

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March 20, 2006
Hello NOVA users: A FEI service engineer came by this morning and he is trying to find out the problem of the 3ĩs...
Therefore the Nova is out of service for today. I am sorry for the inconvenience and for the very short term notice.

Martin

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March 10, 2006
FINALLY: The Nova is up and running again.
After FEI finished on Tuesday (leaving the Nova in a horrible alignment status) I spent the last three days to get some decent images back again.
Enjoy your time on the Nova!

Martin

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March 3, 2006

IMPORTANT - TO ALL FIB USERS:
Whenever the XT Server program gives an ERROR message please make a note in the lab protocol AND send me an email with the error message and a brief description of what you were doing (e.g. what aperture you used, what pattern size you milled, etc.).
The sooner I know about a problem and the more information I have about what was going on when the problem occurred the better are the chances to fix the problem.

Thanks for your cooperation,
Martin

_______________________________________________
March 3, 2006
I will not be in house next week until Monday, March 13. In urgent cases you can reach me on my cell or via email. Otherwise, please contact Dr. Christine Kranz.
The repair on the Nova will of course continue and I will keep track of its progress and post any updates here.

Thanks,
Martin

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March 1, 2006
IPORTANT:
New scheduling rules:
Prime time: 10 AM - 6 PM
Maximum time per appointment during prime time: 120 min
Maximum time per appointment not in prime time: 240 min
Max number of appointments per day: 3
Consecutive appointments are allowed.
Each appointment must begin less than 2 days after it is requested.

Please be considerate when booking your appointments. If you finish more than an hour earlier that scheduled, please release the remaining time again.
If you use the instrument longer than scheduled (even if no one else has scheduled an appointment), please enter the additional time in the scheduler. For future evaluation of a reasonable cost structure I need to have the times that users actually used the instrument.

The instruments keep track of everyone using the instrument and I will check this protocol compared to the scheduled appointments.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Martin
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March 1, 2006
I am sorry to say that we had a little set back last night. The alignment requested also a mechanical realignment of the E-column. Unfortunately, during this process it happened that the vacuum collapsed and the E-column got vented.
I spoke with some FEI service engineers and this is something that can happen through the alignment process because the column needs to be loosened where it is attached to the chamber in order to move it and sometimes it happens that a leak arises.
The process now will be to get the system pumped down again including a bake-out of the E-column.
On the good side I could manage that FEI will fly in a second service engineer on Monday who has more experience with this very complex alignment process.
This means that the Nova will still be down at least until mid of next week.
I am very sorry for this inconvenience. We try to get everything fixed as fast as possible.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 24, 2006
Good news on the Nova:
We finally have an ion beam image again. Yesterday evening the whole ion column has been replaced.
It still needs to be aligned (all apertures, point of coincidence, etc.) which will take another couple of days.
If everything goes well we hopefully have the Nova back by mid or end of next week.

Martin

_______________________________________________
February 23, 2006

The Quanta will be running tomorrow, Friday morning again.
While the second problem seems only to appear under a certain user name the first problem could not be solved yet. However, for most applications this should not matter too much.

Please note that the Active Field Cancellation is currently not working in the Quanta lab. There might be some interference with EM fields that can cause problems during imaging and/or milling.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 23, 2006

The Quanta will be out of service this afternoon. I found two problems with the ion beam this morning:
1: Ion Beam imaging does not work anymore with dwell time larger than 1us
2: When milling / depositing a pattern there is an offset between the designed pattern and the milled / deposited structure on the sample by ~500nm in each direction.

Did anyone realize any of these problems already earlier? I would like to find out how long this is already going on.
Thanks!

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 22, 2006

After the exchange of the LMIS and other parts in the ion gun it still does not fire up. The good news is that FEI shipped a complete new ion gun this evening. A FEI specialist will replace this gun. This will hopefully solve the problem.
On the good side the time so far has been used to take care of the issue with the eucentric height. This means that once the ion gun is finally working the Nova should be just as new.

Martin

_______________________________________________
February 17, 2006

The LMIS (and some other parts in the ion gun) have been replaced today and the instrument is currently pumped down. Since this takes some time over the weekend anyway the FEI engineers decided to directly bake the E-Column because its vacuum level was not optimal anymore.
On Monday we will see if the ion gun will finally start up again. If this is the case it will still take until Wednesday to get everthing aligned again. They basically have to start from scratch.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 17, 2006

FEI has still two engineers working on the Nova. They ran through a couple of tests yesterday and believe that something is wrong with the LMIS (Liquid Metall Ion Source) itself which was just replaced about a month ago. A new one has been ordered and should arrive today. After reassembling the instrument has to pump down the ion gun so that we probably won't know if that was the problem before Monday.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 14, 2006

The replacement of the ion gun's power source did not solve the problem either. Meanwhile a couple of high ranking FEI engineers are involved in the problem but so far they have not come up with a solution.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 13, 2006

IMPORTANT:
There is a new procedure to log into the microscope computer:
The commen account for user does not exist in this way anymore. You will need to log in with your Faces user name. More information is available in the Quanta lab.
PLEASE read it BEFORE you login!!!
Thanks

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 13, 2006

Finally the repair of the Nova has started. On Friday it turned out that the problem was not due to some communication problem as assumed. A new power source has been ordered which should arrive tomorrow, Tuesday Feb. 14.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 5, 2006

Both FIBs survived the Power outage well and their vacuums are in green range. The Quanta can be used as usual from Monday morning on when IPST building is accessible.
The Nova is of course still down due to its previous problem with the ion gun.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 1, 2006
IMPORTANT:
The fact that we have card readers installed and everyone can basically enter the labs at any time DOES NOT MEAN that you can use the FIBs at any time!!!
We have a scheduler established and depending on what category user you are (Beginner, Advanced etc.) you have different access priveliges. You are NOT allowed to use the FIB outside of your scheduled time without having my permission BEFORE.

Even though I do not hand out keys anymore, I still have control who enters the lab and when the instrument is used. I will revoke everyone's FIB privileges who uses the FIB outside of his/her scheduled time without permission.

Martin
_______________________________________________
February 1, 2006
Here is a message from Jerry Nunn:
On Saturday 02-04-06 at 8:00AM the power will be turned off at the PTB 500
10st NW for maintenance to the Main Switchgear for the building. The Main
Switchgear is made up of Circuit Breakers that need periodic inspection and
servicing. GT maintenance hope to have all the work done on Saturday, but
if not they will work on Sunday 02-05-06 to get it all done. The PTB
building will be closed Saturday and Sunday with no power the Lab Fume
Hoods will not be working and it would be unsafe to be in the building.

For our FIB center the means the following:
Both FIBs will be shut down on Friday 02-04-06 evening 6PM.
The Quanta will be running again on Monday 02-07-06 at 10AM.
When the Nova will be running again (aside the fact that it is currently out of service anyway) depends whether I need to bake out the E-beam gun or not.
I will post the Nova status on Monday morning.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 31, 2006
Dear Nova users:
The Nova is down again because the Ion Gun is not starting up. FEI service is informed and I will post as soon as I have any news.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 30, 2006

Dear FIB users. Since we recently got the card readers installed the FIBs will be accessible 24/7 for advanced users.
In order to become an advanced user you need to match the following criteria:

1: You need to have at least 75 hours of FIB experience and you need to have proven that you are able to handle the instruments without supervision.
2: You need to go through a small advanced training which includes some procedures to get the instrument running after certain errors. This training will be done individually and takes only about 15 min.
3: Due to the issues with the Eucentric Height on the Nova (see earlier post) you will need to have had at least one more session on the Nova to become familiar with this situation.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 26, 2006

The Nova is up and running again! It will be accessible from tomorrow, Friday January 27.
ATTENTION:
There is however a slightly unusual behavior during the alignment of the Eucentric Height (EH):
1: The EH is slightly smaller than 5mm. It will typically turn out to be around 4.6mm. (Start at 4.7mm!)
2: When the sample is adjusted to EH and you tilt the sample from 0° to 52° you will realize that the point of interest will not stay fixed. Instead it moves up and comes back down to the original location at 52°.
3: You will have to refocus when you change the tilting angle from 0° to 52°.
4: Due to refocussing you will need to renew the Link Z to FWD.
5: Z and WD should now both be around 4.6 so that everything including PT deposition should work.


All these issues are still problems of the instrument's alignment and we are aware of this. A FEI service engineer will come back in two or three weeks to optimize this alignment. As soon as I know when he will arrive I will announce it here. He will need at least three to four days for that alignment.

As a conclusion of this short description I would like to ask you to be particularly careful with the instrument especially when setting up the Eucentric Height. If you have any problems, please feel free to contact me.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 26, 2006

The card readers are in place for both labs and most FIB users are already in the system. This means that very soon the FIBs will be available 24/7 for advanced users.
The Nova is on its way to come back to live and it looks like final alignments should be finished today which should make the instrument available from tomorrow, January 27 on. Thanks for all your patience.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 24, 2006

Good news: the FEI team is making progress. They got the ion source back running again. Now they have, of course, go through the complete alignment procedure which will take at least until the end of Thursday. So hang on tight, I will post here as soon as I have more news.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 23, 2006

I just spoke with the service engineer who told me that they could not get the ion source to start up again. Unfortunately they have not yet discoverd the reason for this malfunction so that we cannot estimate when the Nova will be running again.
I will certainly keep you posted as soon as I have any more details.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 22, 2006

I hate to tell you this news, but the Nova will still not be up by tomorrow, Monday January 22. As I just heard, the seem to be more complications and another service engineer will arrive tomorrow. Please keep your appointments in the scheduler and I will let the first one know immediately who can have access to the instrument again.
I apologize for this inconvenience and I garantuee to do everything possible to get the Nova back up as soon as possible.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 18, 2006

A second service engineer arrived and is now also working to get the Nova back up. According to him the Nova should be up by the end of Friday.
This means that it will most likely be available on Monday, January 23, 2006.

Martin
_______________________________________________
January 17, 2006
The Nova is unfortunately still down although the FEI service engineer is working on it since last week Tuesday. Another service engineer is on his way to give support. I hope that the Nova will be running again by tomorrow but at the momtent it is very hard to say if that is going to happen.
In the meantime please feel free to book time on the Quanta during the whole day (from 10:00AM - 6:00PM). I hope this can take the pressure out of some of your projects.

Martin

_______________________________________________
January 04, 2006
A happy new year to everyone.
Due to personal reasons I will not be back at Georgia Tech until January 9 and the FIB Center will be reopen on January 10.
However I will do my best to get the Ion Source ordered so that the Nova will be running as soon as possible again.

Martin

_______________________________________________
December 30, 2005
The FIBēCenter will be also closed on Tuesday, January 3rd 2006. It will reopen on Wednesday, January 4 2006.

Martin

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December 21, 2005
The PT-source has been replaced this morning. However, the NOVA is still down because the Ion source is depleted as of this morning.
I will place the order for a new Ion-source as soon as possible but due to the holidays it will probably take until the first or even the second week of January until the instrument will be back up.

Martin

_______________________________________________
December 20, 2005
Unfortunately there was a delay in the last job of our service engineer. It seems now, that he will prospectively arrive tomorrow morning, Wednesday December 21, 2005 to perform the installation.

Martin

_______________________________________________
December 19, 2005
The Pt-Source for the NOVA has finally arrived. The service engineer will prospectively arrive tomorrow, Tuesday December 20, 2005 to perform the installation.

Martin

_______________________________________________
December 19, 2005
FIBēCenter closes over the holidays
The FIBēCenter will be closed from Friday, December 23 2005 until Monday, January 2nd 2006.
Happy Holidays and a happy New Year!

Martin
_______________________________________________
December 15, 2005
The Pt-source for the NOVA was ordered on Tuesday and will be shipped tomorrow. I do not have a confirmation on the installation date but it might be Monday, December 19, 2005. I will post here when this date is confirmed.

Martin
_______________________________________________
December 07, 2005
The Quanta Seems to be up and running again. However it might still show some strange behavior regarding the vacuum and also with the ion beam imaging. We are not sure if this is due to a soft- or hardware problem. Please keep an eye open for any unusual things that you recognize and let me know about them.
Thanks!

Martin
_______________________________________________
December 07, 2005
The Quanta is currently down. There is a problem with the apertures of the ion beam. FEI is informed and I am waiting for reply. I will post any updates here.

Martin
_______________________________________________
November 30, 2005
The Platinum source on the NOVA is depleted. The system can still be used but the Pt-deposition does not work. I am in progress of ordering a replacement source and have it installed as soon as possible.

Martin
_______________________________________________
November 22, 2005
The FIB2Center will be closed from Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving) until Sunday, November 27, 2005.
I wish you all Happy Holidays.

Martin
_______________________________________________
November 11, 2005
The Quanta is up and running again. Its software was updated and it looks a lot more like the Nova XT software. Users of both instruments will most likely appreciate thi chanage.

Martin
_______________________________________________
November 02, 2005
The Quanta is still down. At the moment I can not tell at all, how long it will take.
The cover plates for the cables of the Field Cancellation System have been installed this morning.

Martin
_______________________________________________
October 31, 2005
The Quanta is down. There is a problem with the aperture mechanism of the Ion gun. FEI service is on it and it might be repaired by the end of tomorrow.

Furthermore the cover plates of the Field Cancellation System will probably be installed tomorrow, November 1st. It might be that the instruments can not be used during this time and that the respective users have to cancel their sessions. Do not delay the work of facilities. The installation of these cover plates have absolute priority.

Martin
______________________________________________
October 12, 2005
Both instruments are available again. The Nova received a software update and is now finally able again to run scripts like AutoFIB and AutoSlice&View. Unfortunately the AutoTEM CD was defect so that this package will be installed later. We should receive a new CD within this week.

Martin
_______________________________________________
October 11, 2005
Both instruments will not be available during this day due to maintenance service. If everything works fine they should be up by tomorrow. I will announce any delays as soon as possible.

Martin
_______________________________________________
October 10, 2005
We are expecting a routinely scheduled service maintenance on both instruments this week. The service engineers will come tomorrow, Tuesday, October 11. They will also fix some problems on the Quanta and install a software update on the Nova. I do not know how long they need for each instrument so that I did not block any time yet.

Please expect the instruments to be blocked on a very short notice. You can book time this week, but if you find the FEI engineers working on it, please do not disturb them.

I will announce here when the maintenance is finished and we are back to normal operation.

Thanks for your support.

Martin
_______________________________________________
September 30, 2005

The NOVA is up and running again!


Martin
_______________________________________________
September 28, 2005

The NOVA is down!
We have problems with the vacuum in the E-Beam Gun. I can not tell yet when the instrument will be up again. It will certainly take at least until tomorrow that I can give more details.


Martin
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September 22, 2005
Dear FIB users:
As some of you might have already seen, we added a forum to our webpage.

We want to provide this discussion board for users of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) instruments. Its idea is to give new users support in their first steps into this wide and complex area. But also experienced users are invited to join this forum, not only to share their experience but also to get new ideas of how to even improve their existing processes. We hope that this forum also finds the interest of manufacturers of FIBs and research companies that use FIBs to enable a better exchange of user's wishes and interests and professional solutions. This forum can also be an excellent platform to announce events like workshops or conferences. Hopefully this forum can serve to create better FIB processes, improve instruments and help the whole community to develop better solutions.

If you are currently working on our FIB instruments please join this forum and encourage others who are not yet working here also to join it.

This forum will NOT be limited to Georgia Tech members. Our ambitious goal is to establish a forum that will be used from many groups of different universities and companies.
In fact I am happy that Brandon Van Leer, Senior Applications Engineer from FEI already joined this forum. So please take this opportunity to discuss your applications and or problems with others that really can help you.

Thanks!

Martin
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September 22, 2005
Dear FIB users:
There is a new document published on our website: User's Guide . You find it in the Manuals section. This document contains general guidelines about the DOs and DON'Ts when accessing the FIB instruments.

I expect EVERYONE who uses the instruments and wants to use them in the future to read this document.

New users that want to be trained have to affirm by their signiture on the User Profile And Acceptance form that they read the User's Guide.

Martin
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August 26, 2005
Dear FIB users:
As a reminder: Please do not leave the instrument before the pump down process is complete and the vacuum has reached green level for the chamber icon.
It happened again, that I found one instrument not evacuated on the next morning. This is not acceptable.

Martin
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August 25, 2005
Dear FIB users:
The micromanipulator works with disposable tips. These tips are very sensitive and typically have a short lifetime. It will be your responsibility to purchase the tips you will need.
Here is the product information:
Vendor:Picoprobe
Websitewww.picoprobe.com
Model No:T-4-10-1mm
Price (Single tip):$5.50
Rebate:20% off for 100 tips and more


Martin
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August 23, 2005
Dear FIB users:
Meanwhile the Kleindiek micromanipulator has arrived and is installed in the NOVA.

For those who have already FIB access:
Please contact me to schedule an appointment when you can get trained on this device.
To make this training most efficient, please try to arrange that all users of one group can get trained together.
Thanks.

Martin
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August 05, 2005
Dear FIB users:
Unfortunately I have not got any response at all to my search for the stub tweezers. I will not buy any new ones. Since the one remaining tweezers are personal property and we do not want to afford loosing them too, they are stored elsewhere.
If you need these kind of tweezers for your work you will have to bring your own until the missing tweezers show up again!
Martin
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August 03, 2005
The stub tweezers are missing for one instrument. I need everyone who has been missing them to let me know so I can track down since when they are missing. Please, for the future let me know immediately when something is missing.
For the one who took the tweezers: BRING THE TWEEZERS BACK IMMEDIATELY!!!
Martin
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August 01, 2005
IMPORTANT guidelines for leaving the instruments:
1: Dear FIB users: A while ago I sent out an email regarding the usage of the Sleep Mode.
Put the system in Sleep Mode (Push sleep button, thereby switching off the heating of the ion gun) when the instrument will not be used overnight or on the weekend.
Basically this means if you as the last user finish at 7pm, please put the system to sleep.
Do not use the sleep button, if someone else will use the system within the next one or two hours, e.g. during the day, when the next shift is not exactly back to back to yours.

2.: Please wait until the instrument has completely pumped down and the green level for the chamber is reached! It happens sometimes that the pump process stops leaving the instrument open.

Please follow these guidelines in the future!
Martin
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July 29, 2005
Status of the instruments:
- Both instruments are running fine so far.
- The high temperatures seems not to be a problem for the instruments yet. Still I will try to attain an increase of the AC capacity.
- Windows Media Player will be installed on both support computers as well as the installation of Microsoft Office will be checked.
- I will get estimates for the following additions for the NOVA system: Tungsten deposition source, BNC connection to apply an electrical potential to a sample.
 
Policy changes:
- No one is allowed to enter the FIB labs without having official access permission (check out of training). Exceptions are allowed during daytime (10:00am - 7:00pm) if granted by one of the main operators.
- Please leave the door UNLOCKED when you are IN the lab (so someone can enter without a key)
and have them LOCKED when you are NOT IN the lab. In case something happens while you are in the lab, everyone must be able to get access without a key to help you.
- Please keep the lab as clean as possible.
 
Scheduling (IMPORTANT):
We changed the scheduling to the following rules:
- You can book a time slot up to two days in advance. (Unfortunately Faces does not support to skip weekend days in this rule, so you can book Monday times not earlier than Saturday.)
- You are allowed two slot up to 4 hours per day, BUT they cannot be consecutive anymore. Please try to keep it with one slot so other have a chance to access the FIB too.
- If you need longer time slots, there is a possibility for experienced users (those who had access during my absence) to access the FIB instruments during the night or on the weekend. Please contact me for arrangements.
 
The Quanta will still be blocked for our group from 9:00am until 3:00pm all weekdays. If you see an empty time spot in its schedule less than 24 hours before the slot, you can contact me and have the chance to book it.
 
IMPORTANT:
In order to get the new rules implemented right away, I canceled ALL TIME SLOT from Wednesday, August 3rd on. Please enter Faces to book your times again.

I hope this new scheduling rules will help everyone to get access easier and to use the instruments more efficient.
As usual you know, that nothing lasts forever. We will try these new rules for a couple of weeks to see how they work for everyone.

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July 28, 2005
Announcement:
There will be a meeting on Friday, July 29 at 2pm in the IPST building, Conference room #272.
I want to introduce and discuss a few changes regarding the following topics:
- General usage guidelines
- Scheduling procedures for the future
Martin
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July 28, 2005
Meanwhile the LMIS for the Quanta has been installed and is running fine.
Both system are working ok.

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June 24, 2005
A new LMIS for the Quanta is ordered today. We hope it will be installed during the next week.

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June 24, 2005
This news page is introduced.

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June 20, 2005
Dear FIB users:
I have installed a SFTP server on both support computers. Their respective Hostnames (IP) are: Nova system: 199.77.239.106 Quanta system: 199.77.239.105 You will need a SFTP client program in order to access the servers. GT provides the program WinSCP which can do this. You find it on www.oit.gatech.edu. Together with this installation, there are a few changes regarding the local access on the support computers ONLY! The microscope computers are NOT effected! The login as "user" is not possible anymore (ONLY on the Support computers). Therefore everyone has a personal account. Please ask me before your next session for your username and password. You will need to change this password at your first login. These will also be your access for the SFTP login. You will be able to save your data from the microscope computer on the support computer (just like before) but you are not able to delete them. To manage your personal folder on the support computer you have to login (on the support computer) under your personal account. This gives you full access to your folder. I hope that everything will work the way I planned. Please let me know if you have any problems.
Martin