Running AugerScan and AugerMap on Windows 7 – 10

AugerScan and AugerMap are “legacy” software applications originally developed for Windows 95 and 98, however they have been and continue to be updated for bug fixes, additional features, and operating system compatibility. Both applications (and the systems they run) are still going strong and support Windows 7 – 10.

While many customers are still content running their RBD-upgraded PHI systems on Windows XP (or 95-98!), Microsoft no longer supports those operating systems, making upgrading the OS or replacing those PCs inevitable. There are a few areas where the transitions is not as smooth as we’d yet like, and those are driver support and the legacy help system.

Drivers

RBD provides drivers for older Windows XP systems as well as drivers that are fully compatible with Windows 7 – 10. However, none of these drivers are currently digitally signed. Depending on your operating system, providing the rights to run unsigned drivers may be necessary upon installing the drivers and/or running the software.

Some of the errors you may encounter are cryptic, such as the following sometimes seen when installing unsigned drivers on Windows 10: “The hash for the file is not present in the specified catalog file”.

Driver Error

Thanks for the clarity, Microsoft!

 

The good news is that you should only have to take care of the issue once, not every time you are running the software. The bad news is the methods are different for each operating system version, and even different for the same exact operating system depending on the date it was installed and the PC BIOS.

For most versions of Windows, disabling driver signature enforcement can be accomplished easily by one of these methods.

For Windows 10 PCs that were installed (not updated) with build 1607 (Anniversary Edition), the Secure Boot feature of the BIOS must be turned off.

Help

The original Help system (largely unchanged since Windows 3.1) was phased out in Windows Vista. The context-sensitive help – also known as “what’s this?” or “right-click” help cannot be replaced (this was the information you would typically see for each field in a dialog box, for example). However, for Windows Vista through 8.1, Microsoft does provide separate downloads for the legacy help system; it’s just no longer installed in the operating system.

You can find most of those files on this Microsoft support page (scroll down to “Resolution”) For security reasons, Microsoft no longer supports this help format at all in Windows 10, and there are no third-party solutions available.

However, we’ve translated most of RBD’s help to HTML for both AugerScan and AugerMap. In each case, simply  unzip the file to a convenient folder and run “index.html” in your browser.

XPS PM Procedure

5400/5500/5600 System XPS PM procedure Preventive Maintenance Guide

This post lists the common tasks that are completed as part of a preventative maintenance on a PHI 5400/5500/5600 XPS X-ray photo electron spectrometer.

XPS PM Procedure – OPTICS

  1. *Discuss System performance and issues with system operator prior to servicing.
  2. *Inspect system, note base vacuum. Test TSP filaments.
  3. *Make sure that you have all necessary parts for the maintenance. If you are missing anything, order it before proceeding. For maximum efficiency, you will perform vacuum maintenance first as you can inspect and clean the electronics during the system bake out and cool down.
  4. *Prepare to vent the system by shutting down all filaments and voltages to the ion guns, X-ray sources and neutralizer.
  5. *Turn off the DIGIII and Boostivac. Let the system cool for 10 minutes.
  6. *While the system is cooling, prepare a work area for optics maintenance.
  7. *Vent the system (make sure that the turbo pump(s) are on to prevent oil vapors from backfilling during the vent process). After the system is up to air, turn off the turbo pump(s).
  8. *Remove the X-ray source(s) from the chamber and inspect the filaments, window, football ceramic and anode. Replace parts as needed.
  9. *Remove the ionizer from the Ion gun and inspect the ionizer. Replace if needed.
  10. *Remove the Ion Gauge and inspect the filaments. Replace if needed.
  11. *Replace TSP filaments as needed.
  12. * If the 04-085/090 Neutralizer filament needs to be replaced, remove the neutralizer and replace the filament. It should be replaced every 4 years of normal usage.
  13. *If channel plates or electron multiplier needs to be replaced, remove the 6″ flange on the SCA and replace the multiplier. This typically is replaced every 3 to 5 years depending on usage.
  14. *Pump down the system.
  15. *Start the ion pumps.
  16. *Prepare the system for bake out – NOTE: Remove the microscope by unscrewing the locking screw. Do not remove the lower portion to make it easier to re-align the microscope after the bake out.
  17. *Once the system reaches at least the mid 10-7 Torr range, then the system can be baked for 12 to 24 hours.

 

XPS PM Procedure – ELECTRONICS

 

  1. *Make sure the card rack power is off and visually inspect all electronic cards and units.
  2. *Clean all edge connectors with alcohol and q tips (not an eraser).
  3. *Replace as needed any marginal capacitors, resistors or transistors.
  4. *Replace all neon bulbs.
  5. *Replace CM85 bulbs in EMU unit as needed. Note that if the Vacuum Console bulb needs to be replaced that the entire system needs to be shut down first.
  6. *Clean electronic card rack filters.

 

System Outgas Procedure

  1. *With the card rack power off and all electronic units off as well (except for the ion pumps, DIGIII and turbo pumps), re-connect all system cables.
  2. *Reconnect the microscope.
  3. *Load the slotted silver sample into the system.
  4. *Turn on the card rack power and the power to the Ion gun control and X-ray source control.
  5. *Load AugerScan software.
  6. *Turn on the ion gun control and outgas the filament slowly to 25mA and 2 to 3kV. Do not sputter the slotted silver sample at this time.
  7. *Out gas the X-ray source filaments and condition the anodes to 16.5kV slowly.
  8. *Lightly sputter the slotted silver sample.
  9. *Find the focal point of the SCA using the slotted silver sample and align the microscope to that point.
  10. *Load a piece of Cu and AU side by side an calibrate the XPS linearity.

 

 

 

Calibration

Calibration sequence:

  1. *Calibrate Small Spot on Slotted Silver Sample
  2. Calibrate Au and Cu peak linearity:
    • * Pass Energy Tracking
    • * Au 84.0
    • * Cu 932.67
  3. *Align ion gun to focal point. – Load a piece of TaO5 with an X scribed into it. Put the X at the focal point of the microscope and then burn a hole into the TaO5 with no raster. Adjust the ion source as needed to center the sputter crater in the middle of the X.

 

Specifications

Refer to the counts/resolution Specifications for the specific system type that you are testing. In general, if the resolution spec (less than .8eV FWHM on clean silver) can be met then the system will be performing properly in all pass energies.

RBD TechSpot has procedures for all of the above tasks. Simply search for the keyword in the search box at the top of this bog.  For example – XPS alignment

5600 XPS analyzer voltages

One of the more common questions that we get when a PHI 5500 or 5600 XPS system loses the ability to collect data, is –  “how can we test the analyzer voltages?”   This post will explain the procedure in detail.

First though, the disclaimers –

#1 This procedure involves measuring potentially lethal voltages and is to be performed only by personnel property trained to work safely with high voltage.

#2 It is recommended that these measurements be taken using a Fluke 80K-40 high voltage probe or equivalent.  The impedance of the 80-40K is high enough that it will not load down the 80-365/66 analyzer control voltages which will be measured during this test procedure.

Procedure

  1. Turn off the card rack power
  2. Remove the filter box from the analyzer by loosening the two 9/16″ bolts and then sliding the preamp off the SCA connector.  Do not remove the black high voltage cable that is connected to the filter box.
  3. Remove the 6 screws and take the cover off the filter box.
  4. Position the filter box so that you can get to the connection points shown in the photos below.
  5. Connect a jumper clip from the filter box chassis to the vacuum chamber.  This will ensure that the filter box is grounded.
  6. Connect the ground lead of the high voltage probe to the vacuum chamber, and the input end of the high voltage probe to the E7 IS test point in the filter box.  The test points are hard to get to so you may need to use a small alligator or Pomona clip for the connection point inside the filter box and then connect the other end of the clip to the high voltage probe input.
  7. Refer to the table below.
  8. Turn on the card rack power and set up an alignment with a upper limit and lower limit of 1000eV.  For any given pass energy voltages are shown for the inner cylinder ((IS), the mid-ring (MR), the outer cylinder (OC), the Retard voltage (V Ret), Lens 2 (L2), Lens 3 (L3) and the pass energy (V PE) with respect to ground.  Values are shown for both Mg and Al anode energies. (Note that the CTL and FWD lens voltages are also included in the table. The CTL and FCL lens voltages are measured at the end of the CTL and FCL cables, not in the filter box.)
  9. Select a few pass energies and measure and write down the voltages at all of the test points.   By comparing the results of your measurements to the values in the table you can determine of any of the supplies may have a problem. Typically the voltages measured should be within 10 volts of the values in the table.  If you have a problem with one or more of the supplies the measurement voltages will be off by a significant amount.
  10. If you do find that there are some incorrect voltages then your qualified technician  can use the calibration procedure in the 80-365 or 80-366 manual as a guide to help isolate the problem to the component level. If you do not have the necessary resources to troubleshoot the problem to the component level please contact RBD Instruments for repair options.

MULTIPLIER VOLTAGE TIP: Not listed in the table is the electron multiplier voltage. To test the multiplier voltage, remove the NEG and POS filter box covers and connect the high voltage probe clips between the resistors inside the multiplier NEG and POS filter boxes. Make the connections to the high voltage probe with the card rack power OFF.  When acquiring data the multiplier voltage should be within 10V of the value that the multiplier is set to in the software.

Mg
Pass Energy (eV) IS (E7) MR (E8) OS (E9) VRet (E3) L2 (E10) L3 (E11) V PE (E1)
2.95 -245.7 -246.7 -247.4 -249.7 -174.3 -209.7 -245.7
5.85 -241.8 -243.7 -245.1 -249.7 -214.0 -87.7 -241.7
11.75 -233.8 -237.6 -240.5 -249.7 -192.1 123.3 -233.6
23.5 -218.0 -225.6 -231.4 -249.7 -174.4 240.3 -217.6
29.35 -210.1 -219.6 -226.8 -249.7 -165.6 316.3 -209.6
46.95 -186.3 -201.5 -213.1 -249.7 -144.4 514.3 -185.5
58.7 -170.5 -189.5 -203.9 -249.7 -135.6 591.3 -169.4
93.9 -123.0 -153.4 -176.5 -249.7 -92.4 925.3 -121.3
117.4 -91.3 -129.3 -158.2 -249.7 -76.1 1082.3 -89.2
187.85 3.8 -57.0 -103.3 -249.7 -23.9 1625.3 7.2
Mode CTL FCL
Mg source 1253.6 Minimum -117.4 819.0
Work function 3.9 Small area -187.3 -192.3
All voltage respective to ground Large area -209.7 0.0
BE set to 1000 Small aper -123.6 819.0
Al
Pass Energy (eV) IS (E7) MR (E8) OS (E9) VRet (E3) L2 (E10) L3 (E11) V PE (E1)
2.95 -478.7 -479.7 -480.4 -482.7 -336.9 -442.7 -478.7
5.85 -474.8 -476.7 -478.1 -482.7 -429.5 -320.7 -474.7
11.75 -466.8 -470.6 -473.5 -482.7 -408.3 -109.7 -466.6
23.5 -451.0 -458.6 -464.4 -482.7 -392.0 7.3 -450.6
29.35 -443.1 -452.6 -459.8 -482.7 -383.2 83.3 -442.6
46.95 -419.3 -434.5 -446.1 -482.7 -362.0 281.3 -418.5
58.7 -403.5 -422.5 -436.9 -482.7 -353.2 358.3 -402.4
93.9 -356.0 -386.4 -409.5 -482.7 -311.6 692.3 -354.3
117.4 -324.3 -362.3 -391.2 -482.7 -291.4 849.3 -322.2
187.85 -229.2 -290.0 -336.3 -482.7 -229.6 1392.3 -225.8
Mode CTL FCL
Al source 1486.6 Minimum -226.9 1583.3
Work function 3.9 Small area -362.0 -371.7
All voltage respective to ground Large area -405.5 0.0
BE set to 1000 Small aper -238.9 1583.3
5600 SCA filter box E7 IC

5600 SCA filter box E7 IC

5600 SCA filter box E8 MR

5600 SCA filter box E8 MR

5600 SCA filter box E9 OS

5600 SCA filter box E9 OS

 

5600 SCA filter box E3 VRet

5600 SCA filter box E3 VRet

5600 SCA filter box E10 L2

5600 SCA filter box E10 L2

5600 SCA filter box E11 L3

5600 SCA filter box E11 L3

 

5600 SCA filter box E1 V PE

5600 SCA filter box E1 V PE