Survey and Overlay Images

requires amics 5 1 0 or newer the released version of amics is and can be found at amics 5 1 release notes docid\ se8jyhxszdqfpit7s1ja0 with instruction on the software installation docid\ e1faehd1k20uedqhptzlx page manuals for previous versions of the software can be found at the older amics versions docid\ d2biwe sybowhhdww0anz page survey image (bse) survey is a process of creating a low resolution bse image of the sample block so that the area for measurement can easily be selected, especially for section mounts (also known as c mounts) the most efficient way to achieve this is to use the largest possible field of view (fov) while collecting the survey bse image to begin survey, click on the survey button located in the main ribbon 1\) select the holder positions which requires a survey image in the holder graphics, use the mouse to left click on the positions to select (position hole is darken) and deselect 2\) select survey type in the drop down dialogue box 'sample area' collects a bse image of the sample position hole sample area is used for defining a measurement area for section mounts and large rock chips 'cross shape' collects a bse image is a cross shape and if a faster method for checking the defined measurement area will not measure the sample holder 3\) select scan speed it is recommended to use 8 or 4 usec 4\) select image size for coarse particle mounts, use 64 x 48 or 128 x 96 for finer particle mounts, use a high image size 5\) on the sem, lower the stage (z) to the lowest possible z position adjust focus using working distance (wd), brightness and contrast so particles can be observed 6\) in the "select survey specimen holes" subwindow, click on the 'read' button adjacent to scan width 7\) to begin the survey, press the survey button once the survey is completed, ensure "survey" is selected in the view options in the main ribbon 8\) once the surveys are completed, return the sem stage to the correct working z height position and re adjust working distance, brightness and contrast the bse survey image may contain some parallax errors please always check the defined measurement areas to ensure areas are not omitted before starting a measurement run overlay image (photo) the overlay image function allows for a flatbread colour scanner image or camera photo be imported as an image and then manual adjusted and overlaid onto the holder template the flatbed scanner image is recommended method and is therefore the method described herein flatbed scanner recommendation a) size ability to scan a4 sheet of paper (210 x 297mm) b) resolution at least 4800 x 4800 dpi c) colour depth 48 bit or 16 bit d) output image file format png, jpeg, bmp and tiff 1\) ensure section mounts are properly aligned in the holder 2\) carefully place the sample loaded holder onto a flatbed colour scanner align the holder position to reduce any post scanner image manipulation where possible (orientation and rotation) 3\) adjust the scan settings to ensure the particles, outline of rock chips or section strips can be observed rotate the scan image if required acquire and save the scanned image as either png, jpeg, bmp or tiff 4\) in investigator, click on the down arrow below the "overlay" button 5\) in the sample holder overlay image subwindow, select open and the image format type on the bottom right of the window select you scanned image and click on the open button 6\) identify a point in the scanned image and right click to "mark current position" identify the corresponding point in the holder graphic and "mark current position" there should now be a red cross indicating positions in the scanned image and holder graphics click on "add" to accept these points as corresponding points the red cross will now display as blue x repeat this for the opposite end of the holder 7\) once two pairs of corresponding points have been made activate the "overlay image" tick box the scanning image is now overlaid onto the sample holder graphics minor adjustment to the scanned image positioning may be made using the toggle wheel 8\) once you are happy with the alignment of the scanned image, click on "apply"