Contract for the Supply and Installation of an Ion Milling System and a Cryo Ultramicrotome to the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory

INL, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory

Lot 1
Ion Milling system
General specifications:
- Ion milling system for TEM samples with 2 guns;
- Gun angle can be adjusted within ± 10°, for each gun independently, even during the milling process;
- Sector milling over a range of 5° and 90°;
- Sector milling variation with increments of 0.1º;
- 2 penning ion guns each independently adjustable gas control utilizing mass flow controllers to allow either rapid milling or slow precise ion polishing;
- Current in each gun can be adjusted within the range 0 to 100 µA;
- 10” colour touch screen with control software and ability to create and save recipes with the different milling parameters during a process;
- Current should be measurable for each gun independently and measured at the gun and not a on a Faraday cup located past the sample;
- Airlock for sample change with automatic shutter to avoid contamination of the viewing window. Sample is illuminated in reflection and transmission with adjustable intensity through the touch screen;
- The microscope is compatible with a digital camera;
- Oil-free vacuum system, with a 2-stage diaphragm backing a turbo drag pump with a minimum capacity of 80l/s;
- Work chamber base pressure 5x10-6Torr and operating pressure 8x10-5Torr. Penning gauge shall monitor the chamber vacuum;
- XY stage for selecting the milling area;
- Cooling stage with electronic control of the temperature between -180°C up to 100°C;
- Dewar and conductor rod should share the main vacuum system;
- Built in Dewar heater;
- 6-8 hour Dewar capacity;
- Sample holder and guns must allow milling above and below sample at the same time;
- Sample size: 3 or 2.3 mm.
Valuable specifications:
- Ion beam energy must have as a minimum 0.1keV and maximum of 8.0 keV;
- Spot size less then 2 mm in diameter at any energy of the guns;
- Beam modulation: single gun, double gun or off;
- Through the inactive sectors when using beam modulation rotation speed should be 12 rpm;
- Power consumption during operation less than 200 W and 100 W with guns off.
Ultrasonic disc cutter:
- Cuts simple holes, unique shapes or transmission electron microscope (TEM) discs from hard or brittle materials;
- Sample Size: < 1-10 mm;
- Sample Thickness: < 0.04-5 mm;
- XY stage for centering the sample;
- Manual tuned frequency driver.
Grinder system:
- Produces parallel sided samples in the microns range;
- Parallel sided discs of 50µm thickness;
- Specimen diameter.
Lot 2
Cryo Ultramicrotome
General specifications:
- High stability mechanical drive system for specimen advance and cutting;
- Cutting stroke from 0.1 mm to 15 mm;
- Numeric and digital displays of number of sections cut, total specimen feed advanced, section thickness, cutting speed and specimen feed remaining;
- Bright LED approach backlight with independent LED specimen transillumination/spotlight for specimen localization;
- Electronic stepping control for automatic specimen advance/return;
- 5 memory channels to store frequently used cutting and trimming parameters;
- Built-in diagnostic and set-up routines;
- Built-in report generator and data base with specimen parameter recall mode;
- On-screen measurements of specimen and knife with built-in VIA digital micrometer system;
- Auto thin sectioning from 5 nm;
- Auto thick sectioning to 15 μm;
- 1 nm incremental steps for ultra, semi thin sectioning and block facing;
- Dual footswitch control for switch control for semi thin (or trim) and ultra-thin sectioning;
- Cutting speed range from 0.1 – 99.9 mm/sec in 0.1 mm/sec. increments with digital display;
- Mechanical advance with digital linear scale control;
- Specimen auto feed 200 microns;
- Variable return speed over entire cutting speed range;
- High-precision, manually operated knife stage with positive micrometer control of the N-S, E-W knife position;
- Stereomicroscope 7.7:1 zoom range, 6.5x to 50x magnification with 10x WF (23 mm) eyepieces;
- Built-in ergonocmic swivel away hand rest for restful section manipulation;
- Anti vibration table;
- Table-top 12 L Dewar for 5 hours operation;
- Cryochamber heaters are individually controlled by adjusting heater power levels for particular applications;
- Workstation surrounds without touching the cryo chamber. Hands do not get cold and sectioning is not disturbed;
- Invar metal specimen arm for thermal stability for improved sectioning consistency;
- Video option can be added at any time and can be controlled by the PC.
Valuable specifications:
- Power driven cutting stroke for the hardest specimen and largest block;
- Scan and tilt Single control knob for quickly scanning the entire knife edge and sectioning area;
- Ergonomic stereomicroscope system with constant radial focus, eucentric tilt control adjustment;
- PC controlled cryo-ultramicrotome supplied complete with all in one, slim design computer, "Touch Screen" control monitor 21.5’.
Knive maker:
- Compatible with commercial glass strips ranging from 6 to 8 mm in thickness;
- Able to produce glass knives for cryo ultramicrotomy;

O prazo para a recepção das propostas era 2017-07-17. O concurso foi publicado em 2017-06-15.

• • INL, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory

• • Microscópios › Componentes diversos para microscópios

• • Norte › Cávado