Procedure

Preparing the SEM Stub:

1: Take the stub used in the SEM then take the carbon tape and place it on the stub then peel off the clear slip so the side facing up is sticky
*Samples cannot be wet or metallic also the sample has to be small*

2: Take a paint brush to transfer the pollen onto the carbon tape
* Take compressed Air and hold the stub, start from about a foot and a half back and come closer to the stub using a swirling motion to make sure nothing comes off the Stub and gets stuff in the SEM (repeat a couple times) *

Loading the SEM and Mapping the Image:

1. Push your stub all the way into the cup. Make sure that your sample is flush with the cup.
2. Twist the side knob of the cup four times to the right. Make sure that you always spin down your sample to the correct height.
3. Place the cup into the slot of the SEM until the green light goes on.
4. Let down the SEM door slowly because it is heavy.
5. Press the scanning button that looks like a maze and map the sample.
6. Go into settings  and press label. Label the sample with your period and the first initials of your group members.

Taking Photos and Measurements on the SEM:

When the specimen is loaded into the SEM and when you have found an image that you want to save, you press the focus button, which has a "A" and an oval shape, to get a quality picture. Then you would press the button that looks like a camera and that would save a picture to the machine. If you had a USB drive plugged into the SEM it would automatically upload the image to the drive. If you want to see the picture you would press "Archive" near the top of the screen and then click on what picture you want to see. If you wanted to see how wide or how long your zoomed in specimen, you would press the button that looks like a ruler and then use your finger and touch the part of the specimen of where you want to start the measurement and then press down on the end point of the measurement.

Here is a tutorial video is help explain the steps in more detail
Project Nano Phenom SEM