The Renishaw structural and chemical analyser (SCA) unites two well-established technologies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy, resulting in a powerful and unique technique which allows morphological, elemental, chemical, physical, and electronic analysis without moving the sample between instruments.
Capabilities
- Morphology and mean atomic number from SEM (SEI and BEI)
- Elemental composition from EDS analysis
- Chemical composition and identification from Raman spectroscopy
- Physical structure (crystallographic and mechanical data) from Raman spectroscopy
- Electronic and physical structure from CL and PL spectroscopies
Applications
- Materials science - corrosion studies, electronic materials, polymers, composites
- Semiconductors - particle contamination identification
- Pharmaceuticals - coating, filler and excipient identification, polymorphism studies
- Forensic science - identification of explosives, drugs, fibres, pigments
Advantages
- Simultaneous SEM and Raman spectroscopy
Features of interest can be easily located using the SEM. These can then be identified rapidly and unambiguously using Raman spectroscopy.
- EDS and white light images from the same sample position
EDS spectra, maps, and white light images can be acquired from the same sample position as the SEM image and the Raman spectra.
- Cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies
The Raman collection optics are fully compatible with both PL and CL spectroscopies. The former uses a laser as the excitation source, the latter the electron beam. Each technique can reveal both electronic and physical information about the sample, and CL can be sensitive to very subtle changes in composition and residual strain.