0 Nov 09 *** OIM upgrade to
begin at mid-day 1 Dec:
OIM installation will begin on Dec 1 at 1 pm and will continue for the
next two days, if all goes well. We hope that this will be the last
of service interruption for this year. In an attempt to clear some
backlog, experienced users ( = users with at least 20 hours of using the
machine on his/her own) can look out for available walk-in time during the
next few Saturdays. We will unlock these times 12 hours before
Saturday if we are planning to be here in the weekend. Please
note that you must be an experienced user to use these times as we don't
want to babysit new users - we have our own work to do.
27 Nov 09 *** SEM resuming
normal operation on Nov 30:
We have replaced the broken Varian turbo with a replacement Varian turbo
and the vacuum seems good now. Please go easy on the system.
17 Nov 09 *** System down
due to turbo failure:
The new Varian turbo pump installed just four months ago has failed.
This is a new low even for Varian. WATLab has tried to be a
Varian-free zone but we cannot control what the manufacturer provides in
their systems. We have contacted Zeiss and the engineer is trying to
find us a replacement. The system will be down until we can get this
fixed and we expect to be at least one week. We apologize for any
inconvenience.
Update 26 Nov 09:
We have now received a replacement turbo and are waiting for instruction
about the next step. Expect down time no more than one more week.
27 October 09 *** Bad user
behaviour:
One or more users on Monday Oct 26 have left a big
mess in the sample preparation hood and in the lab in general. This
is unacceptable behaviour.
ALL USERS ARE REQUIRED TO LEAVE A "TIDY AND CLEAN" WORKPLACE FOR THE NEXT
USER.
We are implementing a penalty to discourage this type of behaviour (the
user will be charged for a big clean up fee and we will inform your boss
about this extra billing). Because of the current high flu season,
we also hope that the user will wash their hands before coming into the
lab to minimize workplace transmission. Thank you very much for your
cooperation.
15 October 09 *** No show:
There has been a number of no-show after the SEM
has been reserved. Please note that WATLab requires 3 working days
for cancellation, and your group will be charged whether you show up for
your booked session or not, as no one else can use the time slot once it
has been reserved. Please keep that in mind when you make your
booking.
8 October 09 *** Minor mid-term
cost adjustment:
The recent rise in the consumable cost, particularly
the price of gold, has given us no choice but to increase the gold coating
charges to $20 per 120-s coat. Please collect eight samples
together and deposit them all at the same time to reduce gold
consumption and the cost to your group.
8 October 09 *** OIM
installation on track:
The expected upgrade to the OIM system (the last of
the summer upgrade) is on schedule - expected to be after mid October.
9 July 09 *** SEM NEW user
rules:
The recent upgrade has cost WATLab a considerable amount of cash, none of
which is covered by the user fees. These changes are one-way only,
which means that should the system go down we have no way of going back to
the way we were. Please note the following changes to the present
operation:
1. New hand panel:
This front-end input device replaces the ordinary keyboard but it is very
expensive (cost ~$10,000, i.e. one hand panel = 500 keyboards). As
such, we really don't want the hand panel to get dirty or abused because
we won't have a backup due to its high cost. [We have seen serious
abuses to the joystick (cost ~$2000 just for a refurbished one), and our
Shops had to repair it a few times.]
From now on, NO
FOOD or DRINK will be allowed into the SEM lab.
Please treat these as very delicate and expensive equipment with respect
as it's NOT a toy.
Indeed, we
ask the user to WASH HANDS before handling any of the lab equipment,
particularly the hand panel and of course the microscope.
The practice of hand washing will also help to minimize the risk of flu
transfer via WATLab equipment during the flu seasons and we hope the user
will appreciate this extra health and safety protection practice for all.
Any user caught with dirty hands, food or drink or leaving a messy work
place for the next user will risk having his/her access revoked.
2. New SmartSEM software: The user will
find all the icons looking different. But all the functions are
still there while they may be residing in different places. The
system now operates in XP Pro environment with dual monitor support.
Once we familiarize ourselves, we will recommend the best setup to
proceed. In the meantime,
please do not
hesitate to ask and do NOT explore the system on your own
(because things
may get messed up and we don't know how to fix it).
3. New
capabilities: We will roll out the new capabilities as we fully test
out these features to assure robustness. Please stay with
something that you know. For now, the user will find the beam aligned a lot better than before, with the current improved by over 50%.
We think the user will like the new upgrades as these will not only make
the machine even more user friendly but also improve the image quality.
Please be patient with us and with your fellow user as we are adapting to
the new system. Thank you very much for your kind cooperation.
28 August 09 ***
EDX Genesis Version 4.61 now in place:
The new EDX software (Genesis V 4.61) has now been
installed and appears to be functioning normally. There is only very
minimal front-end change noticeable to the user, but the software is
claimed to have the most stable engine.
The OIM upgrade is next and expected to be sometime in mid September,
which will complete the series of summer upgrades to the SEM system,
making it remaining to be a state-of-the-art and most advanced
field-emission machine.
6 August 09 ***
CFI UW News Release:
WATLab to lead SMO research - First Helium Ion Microscope and RPL to come
to Canada... The HIM is the most powerful microscope on Earth and UW
users should be among the first to take advantage of this unique facility
- the second-generation HIM! We will be one of less than 20 sites
worldwide, and the only Canadian site, to have this HIM instrument.
12 July 09 *** Booking rule #3:
It has come to our attention that some users are ignoring the advance
booking rule. Please remove any extra booking slots, in keeping of
Rule #3 below to allow all users a fair chance of access to the system.
All users should
only reserve NO more than six hours or 3 times slots TOTAL (and not per
week) in the coming weeks.
If we cannot convince the user to do this voluntarily, we may need to
implement a more draconian measure.
4 September 09 ***
Resuming SEM on September 15:
The problem has been resolved and the SEM is
functional. In the next few days, we will however be investigating
the cause of the lock-up and will see if we can develop some possible
safety measures to prevent similar types of lock-up and failure in future.
WATLab will resume SEM service on September 15.
31 August 09 ***
SEM DOWN until further notice:
The y-motion axis was broken this morning. We
will try to get a replacement in as soon as possible. In the
meantime, the system is off-line.
30 July 09 *** Machine
instability problem:
We have been alerted that there is a potential problem related to clicking
of relays on one of the boards. We are looking into this problem,
and Zeiss engineers have been contacted.
30 July 09 *** OIM/EDX upgrade
coming:
The OIM/EDX upgrade is on order and is expected sometimes in the next few
weeks. Instead of unnecessarily blocking off access for a whole
week, we will just "bump off" the users during the two days of the
installation.
ALL USERS: Please be aware
that your booking may get override by the installation on very short
notice.
The upgrade
will include new EDX software, and a new CCD OIM camera plus software.
More to come...
6 July 09 *** SEM overhaul NOW:
Zeiss engineer will be on site starting July 7 to implement the much
anticipated SEM upgrades, and the system will be down for about a week.
The user will see a significant improvement in the way the SEM works and a
brief "re-training" will be needed before granting access.
After the upgrade, please book as normal but CONTACT ONE OF US BEFORE
STARTING YOUR SESSION. We will have expert users standing by to
provide some help.
The
present SEM upgrade will include: New SmartSEM software, new
hand-panel for image control, new high current mode, plus other less
obvious items (new PC and new turbo). This upgrade will bring the
system back to "state-of-the-art" status, after 10 years of continued
heavy usage as the singular most important tool on campus in promoting
advanced materials research at Waterloo and nearby local industries.
This will be the first of a series of upgrades to the
existing WATLab facilities... There will be minor upgrades to the
EDX/OIM system to follow in the next two months after the SEM returns to
stable normal operation.
15 May 09 *** Restarting EBL
service:
EBL users have now agreed to a new processing protocol to minimize machine
contamination. Machine conditions will be closely monitored during
this restart phase.
11
May 09 *** WHY did Noah build the Ark?
The ESCALab was once again flooded for the second time in 3 years by shady
plumbing infrastructure and years of poorly maintained building practices
in C2. This time the pouring water was fast and
furious, yellow in colour and smelling bad. It took Plant Op several
people and seven hours to unclog the main drainage to resolve this
flooding problem. We are accessing the potentially huge damage to
the Spectromicroscopy Lab due to the sewage water and bracing ourselves
for long lost time and large repair bill. Expect
significant down time to the ESCA service...
MOVIE
11
May 09 *** USER DATA folder cleanup:
The USER DATA folder is down to 4 GB free space now. All USERS:
Please remove all the image files as soon as possible. Thank you for
your cooperation.
30
Apr 09 *** NO after-6pm access:
In order to keep a closer eye on the machine and hopefully keep it alive
till the overhaul, we will not allow access after 6 pm until further
notice. Please book time in the normal hours. We have deleted
all after-hour bookings.
28
Apr 09 *** SEM has been fixed. Resuming normal operation onThursday
April 30:
Please note that this is a temporary fix only. In case the system
crashes or the program freezes again, please come to get one of us.
If we are not nearby, please leave a note (describing what has happened)
and your extension so we can contact you later. The accounting
software will log out automatically and you won't be charged. Please
do not power down the hardware or the software because (a) it may cause
further damage to the system and (b) it's easier to diagnose the problem. Thank you for your patience
and cooperation. Also, please note that
the SEM
overhaul is still coming in 3-4 weeks. Stay tuned.
8
Apr 09 *** EBL off-line until further notice:
Our countermeasure has failed. We are suspending all EBL service
effective immediately to see if we can minimize further contamination to
the SEM. We recommend all existing EBL users to use the UWO facility
in the meantime. We ask all remaining users to check their sample
cleanliness carefully, and any user found with questionable samples will
risk having their account deactivated.
31
Mar 09 *** SEM contamination issue:
We have detected some narrowing of the smaller slits, which suggests
possible contamination from some of the users' samples. This is not
good for the users because it will also mean that all EDX quantification
could be off - not to mention the high cost of replacing the slit. Please be sure that your samples are clean and
free from materials that can be easily evaporated by electron beam
bombardment. Users working with photoresists and other porous materials
should definitely check their samples. If you are not sure about
your samples, please check with us for a possible handling solution.
We will be doing spot-checking in the next few weeks, and if we find some
users knowingly risking the machine, we will revoke their WATLab access to
protect the rest of our user base.
23
Mar 09 *** SEM upgrade planned:
We have entered into serious negotiation with Zeiss and EDAX to perform a
long overdue system overhaul to repair both the software and some of the
hardware (hand panel, turbo, pc) in the SEM, EDX and OIM systems. It
is anticipated that work will begin early or mid May and the machine is
expected to be down for about a week if all goes well. Please be
advised that user booking may get overridden by this service.
13 Mar 09
*** USER FEES INCREASE:
Due to the increase in service cost and the uncertain financial
outlook of WATLab, the USER FEES WILL GO UP effective 2009. Please
note the new SEM user fees ($40/h for Certified Users
and $70/h for OS services) and the new cap ($4000 for every six months). If you do not like the fees hike,
please (a) talk to your Department Chair and your Dean and get them
to provide direct support (not just spiritual one) to WATLab. Kind
words and nice gestures don't pay the bill.
***Despite its perceived importance and its heavy usage from all major departments on campus, WATLab sadly does
not receive a single dime from UW Administration. We no longer have sufficient funding to continue to
subsidize (yes, subsidize!!!) its expensive on-going operating cost,
and will begin to implement a user fees structure that
more accurately reflects the actual cost of using these expensive machines on a
revenue-neutral basis.
(b) use the other on-campus facilities in the Departments of Electrical & Computer
Engineering, Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering, and Biology, and
off-campus facilities (e.g. Surface Science Western at UWO, BIMR and CMC
at McMaster ***Unlike
WATLab, these
facilities have cash support from their respective administration and
offer good services with permanent
support staff to assist users
year-round.