Full manual for Macro

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user-5186
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am

Full manual for Macro

Post by user-5186 »

I am trying to automate image acquisition with sequential movement of the SEM stage to cover a large area. This would require a loop of stepping the stage, auto focusing, then acquiring image. I would think that the macro capability in SmartSEM should be sufficient to accomplish this. But I don't have a manual on the macro luggage/function. Could you post the manual online? Thanks!
user-42
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am

Post by user-42 »

Dear Jincheng Xiong,

Unfortunately there is no comprehensive Manual for SmartSEM macro writing. There is only an older but not out-dated tutorial, which I am attaching to this post.

Please note that there also is a SmartSEM module called 'Automated Imaging' that does exactly what you are requiring. For a more sophisticated and versatile solution, we are offering the Atlas 5 system. See some examples of high resolution large area imaging with Atlas on the website http://www.petapixelproject.com/

Best regards,
Heiko Stegmann
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SmartSEM_Macro_Writing.pdf
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user-5186
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am

Thank you

Post by user-5186 »

Dear Heiko,

Thank you very much for your quick reply! The tutorial document was very helpful. I have tried to program with macro for scanning a large area (9 cm by 9 cm) and it successfully acquired over 1300 images last night. I found that stage movement of the GeminiSEM ultra has a systematic y offset when moving only in a single x direction using delta x. Is there any way to compensate or correct this offset?

Also, I found that some of the macro functions in the tutorial document are not available in the SmartSEM 5 that we have. For example, Beam On is not available, Frame Avg. does not have option to specify number of frames N.

Thank you again for your help!

Jincheng
user-42
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am

Post by user-42 »

Dear Jincheng,

if there is a systematic offset in Y when doing Delta X movements, then probably the Stage Angle Calibration of the stage is not correct. This calibration procedure can be found in SmartSEM Service -> Calibration wizard. Have your service engineer do that calibration and see if it makes a difference.

The tutorial document is quite old, so it is possible that some commands and parameters are deprecated or have been replaced by others. For example, you can use 'EHT On', and the number of frame averages is specified with the analog parameter 'N'.

Best regards,
Heiko
Demetri us675
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2023 3:00 pm

Re: Full manual for Macro

Post by Demetri us675 »

I'm attempting to create a sequence that involves precisely moving the SEM stage to cover a large area, automatically focusing at each step, and capturing images. While I believe the macro functionality within SmartSEM should be capable of achieving this, I've encountered a hurdle. Unfortunately, I don't have access https://focusautodetailing.com/ to the manual or documentation for the macro functions in SmartSEM, making it difficult to script the required sequence effectively.
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