The TESCAN AMBER X is a high-performance focused plasma ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) for extra-large volume analysis and high throughput cryo applications. Equipped with the iFIB+ column, TESCAN AMBER X supports cryo-FIB applications previously performed with Ga FIB systems, in a fraction of the time with the ultra-fast material removal rates inherent to plasma FIB. Features hidden deep inside the sample can be exposed within minutes, compared to using traditional Ga FIB milling which would take several hours.
AMBER X cryo is well suited to hard biological materials, such as bones or shells, which can be sectioned easily with the precision expected from a FIB system. TESCAN‘s proprietary artifact prevention methods allow 3D FIB-SEM tomography of soft tissues, porous materials or regions with varying hardness without the need to remove the artificial stripes in image post-processing. AMBER X’s exceptional FIB field of view covers up to 1 mm for cross-sectioning and large-volume analyses.
AMBER X cryo is ideal for core facilities and imaging and microscopy centers serving both life sciences and materials science, with the versatility to handle a variety of materials and specimens, at ambient or cryogenic temperatures.
Key Benefits
- High throughput cryo FIB-SEM workflows. Optimized semi-automated cryo-TEM lamella workflow for artifact-free on-grid preparation of planar lamella from plunge frozen specimens, and cryo lift-out of lamella from bulk, high pressure frozen specimens
- 3D FIB-SEM tomography of large volumes and/or hard materials such as shells, bones, and dental tissue
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- CryoTEM lamella prepared for a site-specific lift-out in the body of a C. elegans worm
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- Large top-down cross-section through ice layer from the top of an HPF sample. Window opening enables site-specific cryoTEM lamella lift-out
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- Extra-large on-grid cryoTEM lamella prepared deep in tissue biopsy by the “waffle method”