Cooling & Heating Stages Enhance Hitachi’s Versatile Tabletop Microscope

The cost effective and easy to use TM-1000 has brought scanning electron microscope capabilities to a wider audience than previously possible, with applications throughout research, education and industry.

In addition to SEM imaging, the TM-1000 already features options for EDX chemical analysis and automated 3D surface visualization and measurement. In partnership with Deben, Hitachi High-Technologies has now enhanced the TM-1000’s capabilities even further with the introduction of cooling and heating stages.

In standard configuration the TM-1000 features a “charge reduction mode” whereby the microscope operates in a low vacuum condition to eliminate charging in non-conductive specimens. The addition of stage cooling to this low vacuum operation means that wet or hydrated specimens can be examined without dehydration and without complex specimen preparation. Steady-state conditions can be maintained for extended periods of time ensuring you have the opportunity to fully investigate your hydrated specimen.

The Coolstage is also available as an enhanced configuration with specimen heating, enabling in-situ dynamic cooling and heating experiments to be performed. Example applications include biological specimens, foods, colloids, paints, oils, micro-fluidic systems and many more.

The Coolstage system is fully self-contained and is as simple to use as the TM-1000 itself, featuring a simple keypad which displays target and current temperatures. No external water supply or chiller is required, and all the existing capabilities of the TM-1000 are maintained – for example, EDX analysis can be simultaneously performed with the Coolstage in place.