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What's New
Last Updated @  2013-12-02 18:35
Contact us at:   manager @watlab.com  or director @watlab.com
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  1 November 2013 - SEM Status Update- Both the LEO and Ultra have been down for the past several weeks due to various failure.  We now have an service engineer on site to resolve these issues.  If all goes well, we hope to put at least one of the systems back in service very soon.

18 September 2013 Internet policy in WATLab - After taking the LEO back online for just 2 weeks or so, we observed some unusual behaviour with LEO's User PC.  This could be a hidden virus and we are investigating...

From now on, NO user is allowed to use any of the WATLab's PCs to connect to the web.  If a user gets caught in doing this, he/she will be denied access permanently!  I think it is of interest to all users to try to keep WATLab's computers clean b/c if one user starts to import virus onto a WATLab's computer, it will spread to all the PCs of our entire user base.  This is not good for us or for all of our users.   I suggest all users to bring their own laptops and use the wifi.  Again, no activity other than data transfer is allowed on any of the WATLab's computers.  Zero tolerance. 

Very soon... we will bolt down the usb key security issue.  If you are not sure how clean your usb key is, please ask us and we will provide  a free blank CD to burn your data.   USB key is now the most vulnerable security risk in our entire data transfer protocol.  Thank you.

6 September 2013 Ultra stage broken - A user dropped the sample holder onto the stage, which broke the Y motion drive, rendering the entire SEM useless.  The UltraPlus SEM will be down until further notice.  This will be an expensive repair. 

As a temporary measure, we are reactivating the relocated LEO service (now with EDX support) - EBL feature will take a little bit longer.  

Please note that for safety reason, we will be remotely monitoring the activity in the qnc B707 via an IP camera from C2.  The live feed will be password protected and will not be recorded.  This setup will allow us to run to rescue the user quickly (from C2), should some accident occurs.

 5 July 2013 qNC metrology tool deployment update - After much anticipation and delays, we finally have power and the essential services in the qNC Metrology Lab.  At last, we are in a position to begin tool deployment.  We expect that the environmental conditions to be far from ideal and not to spec as there continue to be some issues with various support systems in the building.  We are trying to work out these bugs with the renno folks.

If all goes well, we are hoping that the SEM, FIB, SAXS, XRD (new powder XRD tool), and SQUID will be online by mid August, at which time we will begin commissioning of the TEM.  The TEM installation is a big job as there will be new optics and new EDX detector installed on site.  The AFM and optical microscope fleet are expected to be online by late September (once the renno for the respective labs are ready).

In the meantime, we are business as usual here at WATlab.  Have a nice summer and happy data mining!  

31 May 2013 - Just one day after the Shops have rebuilt the sample holder for the Ultra, it has been destroyed!  We are extremely unhappy about this.  There are now some users with a heavy hand among us and they are destroying everything.  I'm going to conduct on-the-spot random testing of all the users.  Careless users will have the access privilege of himself/herself and members of his/her entire group suspended immediately.  A sample holder costs about $10k from Zeiss.  We just could not collect enough user fees to pay for this type of careless use from one or a few bad users.

The hood for sample preparation and the SEM bench area are becoming quite untidy with carbon tape and dirty gloves everywhere.  Please clean up the SEM bench area and the hood area after each session (regardless of whether you use it or not).   If we all do this simple tidying-up, everyone's life will be a bit better.  It only takes a minute or two to pick up after oneself.  There will be a cleaning fee equivalent to 1 hr SEM if these areas are left untidy for the next user.

6 April 2013 - WATLab has extended the SEM service for those hard workers (and experienced users!) who want to do data mining on Saturday morning.  Please note that this time slot will be opened as long as I'm on site to open the lab door.  I'll block off time if I don't plan to be on site.  Please check the booking calendar before showing up.  Tong

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3 January 2013 - Happy New Year!  May 2013 bring all our users happiness in life and in research.  
We look forward to the installation of the long-awaited TEM (as soon as the renovation is completed in the various labs in the qNC domain).  We have also expanded our nanomachining capability at WATLab - see UW Seal with the smallest feature size of 5 nm - perhaps a world record - written by a helium ion beam.

SEM FAQ-1:  How tight should the stub be tightened?  The machine shop has fixed the sample holder and now all eight positions work.  The problem was that the hex screw heads have been either all or partially stripped due to heavy tightening.  Please use only two fingers on the screw driver to tighten these screws.  It is NOT necessary to "crank" it down.  "Finger-tight" is enough to make good mechanical contact.  Tightening too much will not improve the SEM image and will only damage the screws and/or the sample stage.

SEM FAQ-2:  When taking the stubs out, please do NOT loosen the screws too much as they may fall off into the turbo pump below, killing everything!  We only need to loosen 1 to 2 turns, enough to take the stub out.

SEM FAQ-3:  Why should we care about how clean our sample is?  The cleanliness of the sample will affect the cleanliness of the chamber, which will in turn affect the performance of the machine.  Clearly any high-vapour pressure materials will not only make the vacuum bad but also coat the expensive EDX window and all the delicate SEM detectors inside, not to mention causing contamination to (and accelerate the death of) the expensive field-emission source and the lens stack.  Once the system is contaminated, there is virtually no way to clean the machine and it will be extremely expensive to do this.  The consequence is that EDX quantification, especially for low Z elements, will be way off and unreliable, and tons of carbon will appear in the SEM image during image acquisition.  Any user who doesn't respect the sample cleanliness rule will be banned from WATLab, as we don't want these users to ruin the machine for everyone.  Never just "think" it's OK to put your sample inside without checking with us first.  An "overconfident" user is the most dangerous one and is high-risk to other users.  Please exercise due caution, and have some respect for the machine and other WATLab users.  When in doubt, please come to ask us.  Please note that Mechanical Engineering Department (Professor Carolyn Hansson's group) has an Environmental SEM, which can accommodate high vapour-pressure materials.  For the FE-SEM in WATLab, we only want to deal with "clean" samples and low-risk users, as WATLab just doesn't have the cash to do any repair.

NEW services Now JN-LINE for high-resolution XRD and optical spectroscopies (UV/Vis, PL, Raman, FTIR).  Please contact us.

Looking for an exciting graduate or undergraduate research project in nanosciences and nanotechnology?  Please contact us at  tong@watlab.com  for further information. 
 

MICROSCOPY & LITHOGRAPHY
Chem-2 060 ext 33077

 

Scanning Electron Microscopy LEO FESEM 1530 (with EDX/OIM) Bookit	To request a user account - Download and complete the following Account Request Form for Academic Users |  Industrial Users.  For assistance and for the current rates for academic and industrial users, please contact us. We now offer Operator Service, whereby our specialists will run the samples for the users (with the users present) and/or to train the user to eventually become a certified user.  The time allocated for Operator Service is normally Mon-Wed afternoon and by appointment with our specialist.  Certified users,*** who have been authorized by us to operate the machine on their own, can book the time directly online.  In the event of heavy booking, please allow for 3 working days for cancellation otherwise a penalty of 2 hours of SEM time will be charged. All users are responsible for preparing their own samples.  For microscopy supplies (Cambridge stubs, double-sided conductive tapes, etc.), please contact SOQUELEC, Marivac, or Ted Pella.
*** To become a certified user, the new users should contact us to arrange for an initial training session (normally offered once a month).  SEM training will consist of watching a 20-minute on-line video about the general principle of SEM and other available facilities in the SEM lab, to be followed by a second hands-on training session (60-90 minutes) on how to operate the machines (at a charge of $50 per user).  New users must then attend a sufficient number (3-5) of Operator Service sessions so that we are confident that the user can handle the standard tasks.   [Download the on-line SEM Training Video Realmedia (38 MB) or Mpeg (172 MB) here.] Specs and Specimen Stage - Look Inside
For other microscopy and structural characterization tools available for Operator Service, please contact us.	Atomic Force Microscopy & Pacific Nanotechnology AFM Nano-R Scanning Probe Microscopy & Veeco DI Dimension 3100 Nanoscope IV High Resolution X-ray Diffraction & PANalytical MRD Xpert Pro

SPECTROMICROSCOPY & SPECTROSCOPY
Chem-2 064 ext 33078
 

Imaging ESCA Microprobe (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) VG Scientific ESCALab 250	We are now accepting samples from the users for analysis on a cost-recovery basis.  Unlike the SEM, operation of the Imaging ESCA system is complex and delicate.  Only users with a solid background in UHV techniques will be trained on-site.  At 1.7 times the SEM rate, the service fee for using this unique state-of-the-art Imaging ESCA system has been made very competitive (for both commercial and academic users).  For information regarding the sample preparation requirements and to schedule a run, please contact us. For XPS data analysis, we use CasaXPS.  To access CasaXPS, download the latest version from www.casaXPS.com .   Then, contact us to get the site-license password for the software (there will be a small fee to share the cost of the site license and we require the user to sign a copyright form).  To get started with CasaXPS, please study their help manual (Note the links: Quick Summary of Features, Converting File Formats (VG Advantage), Frequently Asked Questions, & Background Information to XPS), before contacting one of us.
XPS Analyser - Look Inside
Machine Physics 080111: Potential rate meter/slow-scanning problem	E250 Outside "Dizzy" Tour | E250 Behind-the-racks Tour Test file
For other spectroscopy tools available for both Certified User and Operator Service, please contact us.	UV-Visible Spectroscopy: Perkin-Elmer Lambda 35 (with Lapshere integrating sphere optics for reflectance spectroscopy)  Photoluminescence Spectroscopy:  Perkin-Elmer LS55 (with Xe lamp)  Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy: Bruker Tensor 27 (with ATR and AGA optics)  Raman Spectroscopy and Microscopy: Bruker Senterra Confocal Microscope (with 532 nm & 785 nm lasers)

NANO-FABRICATION & MATERIALS SCIENCE
Chem-2 066 ext 36827
 

WATLab NEWS Archive
 

11 September 12 - LEO now off-line:   The LEO 1530 is now off-line.  We will try to reactivate the system as soon as possible, upon its relocation to the QNC building.  As a temporary measure, we will train one "senior user", designated by each group,  to use the new UltraPlus SEM now fully operational at WATLab.  We will continue to provide OS service during this hopefully short period.  Thank you for your understanding.

 

28 August 12 - SEM shutdown on September 8:   We now have a firm date (September 8) that we will temporarily shut down and store the LEO 1530 till its relocation to  the QNC building.  As we have not been told a definite QNC move-in date, we are unsure how long this shut down will last, hopefully no more than 3 weeks.  Please plan your work accordingly.  In the meantime, we will provide OS SEM service on our other WATLab systems.

 

2 August 12 - Anticipated SEM shutdown in mid September:   As the new QNC building is slowly coming online, we are planning to re-establish the SEM operation there, which will result in the loss of service for about one month.  While we will try to minimize service interruption as much as possible, we are advising all users to plan a bit ahead and do your samples now!  Relocating a machine is always a tricky business and sometimes it could unearth unexpected issues.

 

27 June 12 - SEM down till Monday:  We are experiencing some computer issues with the SEM.  We have recovered the system but will need the next two days to stabilize operation and to do some much needed system maintenance and backup.   If all goes well, we will resume normal operation on Monday July 2.

 

4 June 12 *** State-of-the-art ION-TOF SIMS-5 system now fully operational:  We have successfully completed full commissioning of the new state-of-the-art ION-TOF Static SIMS system, equipped with Canada's first argon cluster source.   The new Ar cluster source enables precise sputtering of organic films without introducing significant interlayer mixing and matrix effects.  This will be particularly powerful for organic layer and biomaterial characterization. 

 

WATLab will be accepting SIMS samples on OS basis by July 1.

 

WATLab is now accepting HIM samples on OS basis.  If you have samples, please contact Lei.

 

WATLab will begin tool deployment of the FIB and TEM hopefully in July.  If the QNC building move-in date is on schedule, then we expect both tools to be fully commissioned before the end of September.   Same deployment schedule is expected for the SQUID and other tools.

 

1 May 12 *** EBL & EDX imaging back to normal operation:  We have traced these problems to a bad switch.   Both techniques should now work properly.

 

3 Apr 12 *** EBL taken off line until further notice:   We are experiencing image blackout with the EDX system.  A possible cause could be some sort of communication protocol conflicts between the EDX and EBL systems.  To investigate this further, we need to take the EBL system off line, fix the EDX and then wait and see if this problem occurs again.   If you are using the EBL system, we apologise for the inconvenience.  We encourage you to use the QNC EBL system in the meantime.

 

12 Jan 12 *** Update on QNC tool acquisition and deployment:  See message sent to WIN membership via WIN office on 3 Jan 12.- For more info, please contact Tong.

 

 

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