Overview Electron Microscopes are vulnerable to vibration disturbances caused by several factors including structural resonance due to floor vibration input.
Pneumatic passive isolation systems will not creat enough vibration environment to bring out the optimal performance of the microscopes for observing high-magnification and high-resolution images.
VAIS-PB is a base-platform type active anti-vibration system optimized for electron microscopes (SEM, TEM and FIB). With its pneumatic support frame, the system outperforms the competitors’ metal spring-based systems and effectively eliminates aperiodic impulse vibration.
Since the successful commercialization in 2015, the system’s high-performance capabilities have been applied to several electron microscope manufacturers worldwide.
High-damped pneumatic support frame strengthens VAIS-PB’s robustness against aperiodic impulse vibration.
Utilizing feedback and floor feed-forward controls, VAIS-PB has an excellent capability to prevent low-frequency (less than 10Hz) vibration disturbance, a critical factor on the electron microscope.
Three LED lights (Red, Green, Blue) on the front panel conveniently inform the user on the vibration environment changes and serviceability.
Digitally-controlled VAIS-PB is designed for a convenient self-diagnosis of operation-related malfuctions, such as the center of gravity changes.
AMTEK provides a remote real-time support for convenient performance diagnosis and technical support.
| Model | VAIS-PB (Type 1) | VAIS-PB (Type 2) |
| Dimension [mm] | 900(W) X 1100(L) X 223(H) | 1000(W) X 1400(L) X 230(H) |
| Support Frame | High Damped Pneumatic Frame (4 units ~ 6 units) | |
| Max. Actuator Force | 80N (Vertical) / 50N (Horizontal) | |
| Control Range | 0.5 ~ 1,000 Hz | |
| Control DOFs | 3 axis 6 DOFs (Full Active System) | |
| Required Air Pressure | Over 0.5 MPa | |
| Input Voltage | AC 90 ~ 230V / 50 ~ 60Hz | |
| Resonance Range ( >1 Hz ) | Does not exist |
| Isolation efficiency on Frequency Domain | |
| 2 Hz | -10dB (60% isolation) |
| 5 Hz | -30dB (85% isolation) |
| 10 Hz | -40dB (99% isolation) |
| 20 Hz ~ | -40dB (99% isolation) |
(1) With a built-in pneumatic passive anti-vibration system, electron microscopes and FIBs require environments free of low-frequency vibration disturbance below 10Hz, usually produced by building's structural resonance. VAIS-PB isolates 300 to 500 times more vibrations than the passive system in the resonance range.
(2) After successfully applying the system to FEI Quanta 250 FEG in 2014, VAIS-PB continues to show excellent performance in several other electron microscopes and FIBs manufactured by Hitachi, Zeiss, Jeol, Tescan, and numerous others.
(3) VAIS-PB consistently provides a stable vibration environment with its pneumatic support frame, which is robust against aperiodic impulse input.
(4) Using the air spring support, VAIS-PB can be applied in a wide range of equipment weights, from lighter SEM and FIB to heavier TEM and STM.
