Novelx, Inc. was just
selected for a prestigious R+D 100 Award for one of the 100 most technologically
significant new products in 2009. R+D Magazine recognized the Novelx mySEM®
for miniaturizing and driving the cost out of the core technology inside a scanning
electron microscope (SEM).
Powered by the patented Novelx Stacked Silicon Technology, the mySEM is a bench-top
SEM for imaging and characterizing nanoscale objects and materials. In a compact
design that installs easily into available lab space or closer to production
lines, the mySEM delivers capabilities previously only available in high-end
field emission SEMs, at a fraction of the cost. Optimized for low-voltage operation
and without the need to coat non-conductive samples, the mySEM is an ideal choice
for the imaging of energy sensitive nanomaterials, biomaterials, polymers, thin
films and membranes.
Lawrence Muray, CEO and co-founder of Novelx, explains, “Novelx has
designed and built a low cost, but high-performance compact field emission SEM.
Our patented technology represents a disruptive innovation in how scanning electron
microscopes are built and operated. By leveraging silicon processing technologies,
Novelx has dramatically miniaturized the core technology inside a SEM. This
miniaturization enabled the design of an all-electrostatic electron beam column
that when coupled with a thermal field emission electron source is optimized
for low-voltage imaging and sub-10nm resolution.”
Several imaging techniques are available with the Novelx mySEM to enhance
surface contrast and allow nanoscale features to be observed. A variable low-voltage
system, the mySEM eliminates charging of non-conductive samples without the
need to coat samples, which can mask many nanoscale features, or to operate
at increased pressure, which can degrade resolution.
According to James Spallas, CTO and co-founder of the company, “The
mySEM uses a quad-segmented microchannel plate (MCP) detector. This patent-pending
detector can detect secondary and backscattered electrons together, backscattered
electrons only, and can operate in a topographic mode that enhances surface
topography. This topographic imaging technique is capable of sub-atomic vertical
resolution of crystalline materials resulting in the ability to image individual
dislocations, atomic steps and other defects on or near the surface.”
Winners of the R+D 100 Awards are selected by an independent judging panel
and the editors of R+D Magazine. According to Rita Peters, editorial director
of R+D Magazine, “Winning an R+D 100 Award provides a mark of
excellence known to industry, government, and academia as proof that the product
is one of the most innovative ideas of the year.”
The Novelx mySEM is commercially available and in use by several leading university
research centers for the imaging of nanoscale objects and materials in a wide
variety of fields that include Materials Science and the Life Sciences. Industrial
applications include the characterization of nanomaterials at corporate product
development labs, the failure analysis of nanoscale defects and the quality
assurance of nanomaterial-based products closer to the production line.
For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release,
contact Jim Rynne or visit www.novelx.com.