Fiducial Points

introduction the fiducial points function in amics allows samples that have been analyzed in amics to be analyzed by other 3rd party tools that rely on the spatial location of sample objects to make it possible for the 3rd party tool to find the target objects, having physical markings on the sample which are saved as fiducial points allows for migration of the coordinate system from one tool to the next usage guide step by step instructions amics allows up to two fiducial points in the investigator application, and the function button can be found in the main menu ribbon, in the " specimen holder " section this button will not be active unless a sample has been selected either through the holder image interface in the top half of the main ui or the sample/measurement list in the bottom half of the ui once the fiducial points button is pressed, an updated window will open, allowing for setting up to two points on the sample the pop up fiducial points interface window will show a zoomed in image of the selected sample, highlighting the fiducial points as they are being assigned fiducial points can then be assigned by moving the sem stage such that the first fiducial point is in the field of view on the sem then clicking on the " add " button will set the first fiducial point, with the x, y, and, r position updated on the table to the left this procedure can then be repeated for the second fiducial point two fiducial points are the preferred number for optimal coordinate translation between tools having only a single fiducial point would allow possible incorrect coordinate referencing if there is a possibility of sample rotation between tools in addition to assigning new fiducial points, details of any existing points can be modified by selecting the point to be changed and pressing the " edit " button points can have user defined " name ", as well as the x, y, and r values additionally, the label used to display the sample image can be modified by changing the " label " item existing points can also be removed by selecting an existing point and pressing the " delete " button finally, the details of the acquired fiducial points can be exported to a text file, for transport to 3rd party tools, the final two function on this interface is the ability to go to a selected fiducial point, by pressing the "drive to" button it also allows users to update the position indicator on the sample image by pressing the "mark pos " button, which will read the hardware position from the sem, and update the red cross hair on the sample image limitations as noted in the step by step instructions, a maximum of two fiducial points can be assigned for each sample, and to fully account for x, y, and r when transferring a sample from amics to a 3rd party tool two points is preferred access requirements a valid license with amics offline or amics online