Fiducial Point Selection

fiducial points are used to align specimens if they are removed after analysis with amics this can be either to realign them on the sem for further analysis at a later date or if samples are transferred to another device for 3rd party analysis this allows for grains and particles to be relocated even if the specimen is moved amics allows for up to two fiducial points which is the minimum required to align the x y and rotation of the specimen to access the fiducial points manager, a specimen needs to first be added to a specimen hole this will then activate the fiducial points option on the main menu ribbon, which will bring up the fiducal points manager interface (example shown above) this interface allows users to move the stage to fiducial points on the specimen, and read in the stage position from the instrument by using the " add " button a total of two positions can be saved, and existing fiducial points can be changed by using the " edit " button, or removed by using the " delete " button it is also possible to export saved fiducial points to a text file, for later reference or to be used on a 3rd party instrument to realign the specimen by using the " export " button it is also possible to read the current stage location and highlight this on the stage image via a red crosshair, for navigation purposes, but using the " mark pos " or move the stage back to a saved position by using the " drive to " button once a saved point is selected