Within the column, different detectors allow simultaneous information on material contrast (T1 detector; detecting backscatter electrons), topography (T2 detector; detecting secondary electrons), and surface information (T3 detector; detecting low-energy secondary electrons). In all Apreo 2 SEMs, the T1 and T2 detector are available as standard, and the T3 is optional.
Other detector options for the Apreo 2 SEM include the chamber-mounted Thermo Scientific Nav-Cam+™ Camera; the ETD detector, which detects secondary electrons and backscatters; a retractable DBS, which, by its four annular segments, allows discrimination of backscatters based on their angle; and a retractable, segmented STEM detector. The STEM detector allows higher contrast in life science samples in annular dark field. For serial block-face imaging, a specific LoVac lens-mounted backscatter detector can also be configured, providing the best image quality in low-vacuum conditions.
The Apreo 2 SEM offers a choice of high-resolution HiVac operation or a dedicated LoVac mode. The latter allows chamber pressures up to 500 Pa, which provides a certain hydration level to samples and allows different charge-mitigation strategies to be applied. Mitigation of these charging effects results in excellent resolution in the images. The low-vacuum mode also comes with an automated routine to insert and remove the pressure limiting aperture (PLA). The PLA allows you to choose the proper conditions for imaging instead of manually adjusting the system for LoVac imaging conditions.
The flexible chamber of the Apreo 2 SEM accommodates up to three EDS/WDS ports for fast and sensitive X-ray measurements, which can be analyzed using the revolutionary Thermo Scientific™ ChemiSEM™ Technology. This technology provides elemental information quickly and easily, and, because it is fully integrated into the user interface of the SEM, the elemental information is displayed as color in the live image, meaning that the SEM is no longer a grayscale technique.
The chamber is also compatible with cryogenic stages, cathodoluminescence detectors, integrated Raman, and other analytical techniques that might be required, offering a full package for any application and any research question that needs answering.
The addition of our state-of-the-art serial block-face imaging system to your Apreo 2 SEM allows you to move your experiments into 3D, unraveling the complex architecture and structure-function relationships of your sample in its natural context. The Thermo Scientific Volumescope™ System can be quickly and easily mounted onto your Apreo 2 SEM, giving you the ability to perform unattended, large-volume acquisition as well as automatic visualization of the reconstructions.
The Volumescope System offers an improved axial resolution by combining the mechanical microtome with optical sectioning. After each section is cut from the block face, the exposed sample is imaged with a series of increasing accelerating voltages. This generates a 3D subset of optical subsurface layers that provide isotropic information with 10 nm Z-resolution. The ability to quickly remove the microtome allows you to switch the system back to normal 2D SEM operation or even to automated tomography through the addition of optional Thermo Scientific Maps™ Software.
Array Tomography is a software module within Maps Software that enables high-resolution 3D image volumes based on serial ultra-sections of biological tissue blocks. Array Tomography samples are typically carriers that carry hundreds of serial ultra-sections. Until now, the process of creating imaging regions in the same relative location in all sections required hours, or even days, of manual input from a skilled operator. Using the Thermo Scientific Array Tomography workflow, the automatic Section Finder takes over this task.