AZtec 6.2 is live! Now we’ve had separate discussions about our hardware launches for Ultim Max Infinity and the Near-Axis TKD Screen that have been supported by this release of software, but today I’d like to focus on the other new software additions. I thought I would take the time to introduce myself and after the launch of our latest software to take a little closer look at some of the functionality improvements we’ve introduced recently.
My name is Kate I’m the Technical Product Manager for the AZtec platform, I was previously working as a Technologist in research and development. Which makes it perfect for me to introduce what we’ve been doing in 6.2 as I helped write some of these algorithms. I’m a TEM and ED nerd by background but really enjoy problem solving. My job moving forwards is to collect our development of AZtec together and make sure we’re coordinating all our product lines. So expect to hear more from me in the future about each release as I try to collect our development together into one story.
Topo Mode
Firstly, some nice additions for our Unity customers, Topo mode is now available. This means you can tailor how the two sensors of the Back-scattered electron (BSE) detector are combined. So instead of only showing the standard combined signal, you can now choose to look at modes which provide more topographical information or an inverted signal, if you want images with contrast more comparable to a TEM image.
New Line Scan Tool
Something I know we’ve all be waiting for, an update to the line scan tool. The clip below shows a demonstration of it in use. Essentially you can adjust the angle, thickness and location of your area of interest before hitting reconstruct. Once complete the reconstructions drops a new line scan dataset into the project corresponding to your newly created line scan. Most importantly those image coordinates are saved so that you can move to another map and extract exactly the same region again, providing reproducibility into experimental measurements.
H5OINA
H5OINA is our version of open-source data format based on the HDF5 (hierarchical data format 5). It is also the primary method for transferring data between AZtecLive, AZtecCrystal, Relate and WT Control. For our customers who would like to really dig into the raw data you can now export all raw patterns, and EDS data cube or Feature data. So what can you do with this extra data? You could import into Hyperspy and start performing spectral decompositions. You could import it into WT Control so that you have access to all the maps and electron images you’ve created and then navigate using one of these instead of your optical image for RISE experiments. The possibilities are endless. All exact details and specifications can always be found here.
Bigger and Better Things!
We have now increased the upper limit of the montaged image to a resolution of 20k x 20k (for both image and X-ray maps) which means you can map your sample to even higher resolutions.
New Batch Export (Beta)
We know data export is a real pain point to all of our customers. So we’ve taken a new look at this and focused on creating a workflow that guides users through the process of data export. The idea behind this is that once you’ve created a recipe you can store it for future exports, for fast automated data export. Right now this is beta version offered to selected customers but we will roll it out just as soon as we have enough to completely replace the current batch export. Feel free to talk to your local customer service if you would like to get early access.
Feature Extraction with Unity
This is another exciting one. If you run your cartography map and then head over to the Feature tap, you can now perform a retroactive feature phase extraction on the full map. Phase separation is using both Unity and Ultim maps. This opens up a really nice way of quantifying the distribution of particles in your sample, whilst still harnessing the speed of Unity.
Dr Katherine MacArthur read for her Masters in Engineering and Materials Science at Corpus Christi College Oxford where she developed her passion for electron microscopy. When she moved on to her DPhil, she delved deep into the world of high-end aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) specialising in quantification of electron images and EDS. She continued to push the limits at atomic resolution trying to count atoms and quantitatively measure the localised structure of core-shell catalyst nanoparticles. Later moving to the Ernst Ruska Centrum in the Forschungszentrum Juelich, Kate continued to play with TEMs understanding the fundamental limitations of EDS quantification in a STEM and expanding into both in-situ heating and gas experiments. In early 2023 after a short parental leave, Kate relocated back to the UK stepping away from the dark room of TEMs to join the Technology team at Oxford Instruments. In this role she carried on developing algorithms for improved EDS processing, including contributing to bringing the Unity detector to market and expanding our open-source data export. In September 2024, she changed roles to become Technical Product Manager for AZtec. In this new role she interfaces between the software and marketing teams aiming to support technical solutions for our software development and ensuring a uniform end product for our customers.
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