Part of the Oxford Instruments Group
AZtecFeature is an innovative particle analysis system specifically optimised for usability and high-speed throughput. It combines the raw speed and sensitivity of the Ultim Max Silicon Drift Detector with the superior analytical performance and ease of use of the AZtec® EDS analysis suite to create the most advanced automated particle analysis platform on the market.
Fast and Powerful
Choice of detectors to suit budget and needs
Accurate
Easy to Use
AZtecFeature is an innovative system for particle analysis in the SEM. It is specifically optimised for usability and high-speed throughput. This 12 page brochure gives an overview of the system.
The technical cleanliness of components is crucial to their performance in finished products. As such, the assessment of the level of cleanliness of components is applicable in a wide range of industries, e.g. any involving the manufacture of mechanical devices such as the automotive industry. A typical example of such a component is ball bearings which are at the heart of almost every product with a rotating shaft.
Lithium Ion batteries are found in most mobile electronic devices (e.g. laptop computers, phones etc). They are the dominant battery technology due to their superior energy to weight ratio and lack of memory effect. They are also the primary battery type used in the latest generation of electric and hybrid cars.
Particles in powder samples come in all shapes, sizes and compositions, and the requirements for their analysis and characterisation can be just as varied. Particle analysis tasks may require only morphological measurements from a single field of view or could require the combination of morphological and chemical data from many thousands of particles from a large sample area.
New and existing materials for lithium ion batteries are being studied extensively with the aim of increasing their storage capacity and lifetime. While the SEM is an important tool in the study of these materials, characterising the distribution of Li still remains one of the main challenges.
The automated analysis of asbestos by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) is a powerful technique that enables the quantity, composition, and morphology of suspected asbestos fibres to be quickly measured.
Here we consider AZtecFeature in the context of engine wear monitoring, geology and air cleanliness and pollution. We discuss how key improvements in AZtecFeature in combination with recent advances in EDS detector hardware make it a compelling proposition for a much wider group of researchers and practitioners in industry and academia.
In the past, characterising non-metallic inclusions and precipitates in steels and other alloys, especially for light elements such as boron, has presented a challenge. However, AZtecFeature, in combination with a high solid angle windowless EDS detector such as X-Max Extreme and a conventional large area detector provides exciting, novel capabilities.
Gunshot residue (GSR) is produced from the condensation of the vapour cloud which is generated from the primer and propellant when a bullet is fired from a gun. The condensing vapour from the primer will form particles which are typically spherical and range from potentially less than 0.5 μm up to significantly larger sizes...
The manual characterisation of cut sections of geological materials can be a laborious, time consuming process which can be very subjective. AZtecFeature, used in conjunction with large area X MaxN SDDs can automate this process enabling complex mineralogies to be characterised quickly and accurately.
Improvements in Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) hardware (detector and pulse processing electronics) and software over the last decade have delivered many advances in terms of data quality, acquisition speed and ease of use.
Automated feature and particle analysis has never been so easy! Basic particle sizing is available immediately: click on one particle and others in a similar grey level will be automatically detected and their morphology displayed.
As AZtecFeature is fully integrated with the rest of the AZtec Suite, adding chemical data could not be easier...
Going from single field analysis to acquiring data over a large area of a specimen or even several specimens is easy:
As soon as data from a particle is acquired, it is added to a customisable list displaying morphological and compositional measurements and particle classifications.
Unlike light-optical methods, AZtecFeature classifies particles and features not only by size and shape but also by their chemical composition, including any combination of these parameters.
The extra dimension provided by compositional analysis creates certainty as to the origin and impact of identified particles on materials properties or an industrial process. It opens up applications in R&D and industrial process control such as:
Rare particle detection
AZtecFeature is ideally suited to rapidly find rare features or particles of interest, solving so-called ‘needle in a haystack’ problems.
By processing the electron image, candidate features can be identified rapidly and their chemistry confirmed by EDS. This technique is widely used in crime forensics to identify gunshot residue and for identifying precious metals in ore samples. It can cut the analysis time from hours to minutes and free up the operator’s time.
AZtec offers the automated acquisition of large area X-ray maps which are used to reveal nanoscale features distributed over large areas. AZtecFeature is used to extract X-ray data from large area maps comprising tens of gigabytes of data. By intelligently combining the information from electron images and X-ray mapping data, AZtecFeature is an effective data mining tool to analyse large sets of analytical data.
The most advanced and cost-effective automated mineralogy system on the market.
The GSR module adds dedicated setups for crime forensics and gunshot residue analysis. It enables particle classification and reporting according to ASTM 1588-10e1.
*Module available in AZtecGSR and a subsequent release of AZtecFeature.
Analyse inclusions in steels, tyre cords and powder metallurgy...
Download the application note: AZtecSteel technical bulletin
Advanced characterisation
The integration of AZtecFeature with the other modules in the AZtec nanoanalysis suite enables seamless transitions between different techniques and sensors.
For example, if a particle of specific interest is identified during an automated run, it can be relocated and an X-ray or EBSD map acquired in seconds. AZtec’s advanced TruMap and TruPhase functionality correct for overlaps and background variations in EDS data and identify phases unambiguously by combining EBSD and EDS data.
Integration enables:
Oxford Instruments’ Ultim Max Silicon Drift Detector comes in a range of sizes to suit budget and application - from 40 mm2 for basic microanalysis up to an astounding 170 mm2 for advanced nanoanalysis.
All Ultim Max detectors provide:
For applications that do not demand the full Ultim Max performance, x-act is available. It is a fully quantitative 10 mm2 SDD with excellent performance at low and high count rates.
When used in automated process control, adding one or more extra detectors can significantly enhance the sample throughput.
For challenging applications, where very small particles or particles on beam sensitive sample such as some polycarbonate filters are being is not an option. In such cases multiple detectors can provide an effective solution to enhance the collection efficiency so that particle detection can progress rapidly. For samples where particle size varies significantly, shadowing of smaller particles by larger particles can be a significant issue when only one detector is used. Having at least two detectors mounted on opposing ports can overcome these shadowing effects.
A multiple detector system not only achieves faster sample throughput, it also reduces the effect of shadowing.
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