DIY Scanning Electron Microscope - Tektronix contest entry

Vote for me here: http://mytektronixscope.com/videos/

I am using my Tektronix 2246 analog oscilloscope to show the image generated by my DIY electron microscope. The 2246 is operating in X-Y mode, with the channels connected to a raster scan generator. The vertical scanning frequency is about 30Hz and the horizontal frequency is about 10KHz. The trace brightness (Z axis) is modulated with the secondary electron signal from the microscope.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Tektronix
• DIY
• scanning
• electron
• microscope

[morto360]

Even tho your project is awesome, it looks like you can't win vs. people with a few thousand subscribers :)

Its kinda unfair since your project is definitely a lot cooler then most others in this contest!!

[bkraz333]

@morto360 My main reason for entering contests and other events like Maker Faire is to impose a deadline on myself and stir up some motivation to get a project done. If I hadn't planned to get the SEM project done for Maker Faire this year, I may never have finished it at all. It's good to have time pressure. Winning a contest would be a pleasant surprise, but certainly not may main goal. In any case, thanks for your vote if you voted for me!

[bkraz333]

@bkraz333 Currently, the two most popular videos in the contest are the RS232 and key car fob. The RS232 video has over 5000 votes. The woman in this video appears to be reading from a script and doesn't seem to know anything about RS232 or oscilloscopes. There are other videos that show immensely better use of the scope and demonstrate the user's intelligence and creativity (auto Bode plot, Inductive current sense etc) . Even though I don't really care if I win, I sure hope RS232 doesn't win.

[DikkeHamster]

How far can you actually zoom in?

And in the video it didn't really look like a zoom (maybe that wasn't your purpose anyway) but more like a pan, like in a videogame, how come?

Nice vids, I'll keep following them ;)

[bkraz333]

@DikkeHamster The SEM doesn't have very good resolution at the moment. I am working on better apertures that will help me achieve sharper focus, and eventually I hope to get a resolution of about 1 micron. I was panning the scan in the video. It is easier to move the scan pattern by small distances instead of moving the sample itself.

[bkraz333]

Thanks for all of your votes!

[protelboy]

I had no idea you could use an oscilloscope to display an image like that, it's fantastic! Good job!!

[oisiaa]

@bkraz333 Sir, you may be the most awesome person currently living on planet Earth! I don't care that you built something that was first made in 1935, doing so in your garage for fun is amazing. I wish I was 1/10th as smart and motivated as you. Keep it up!

[RussellTuan]

WOW!!

[bkraz333]

@AntiProtonBoy Yes, I would like to do this, but I have a feeling it will be more difficult than it sounds. I plan to start experimenting with FPGAs in the next few months, and may eventually convert the whole scanning/digitizing system to be driven by an FPGA. This would allow high-resolution single-frame capture and better scan control. Generating an NTSC signal might be helpful for display on a TV, but I don't think I have an old video capture device that could digitize it for youtube.