Training

How to Get a Good Answer in a Timely Manner

Shawn Wallace, Applications Engineer, EDAX

One of the joys of my job is troubleshooting issues and ensuring you acquire the best results to advance your research. Sometimes, it requires additional education to help users understand a concept. Other times, it requires an exchange of numerous emails. At the end of the day, our goal is not just to help you, but to ensure you get the right information in a timely manner.

For any sort of EDS related question, we almost always want to look at a spectrum file. Why? There is so much information hidden in the spectrum that we can quickly point out any possible issues. With a single spectrum, we can quickly see if something was charging, tilted, or shadowed (Figure 1). We can even see weird things like beam deceleration caused by a certain imaging mode (Figure 2). With most of these kinds of issues, it is common to run into major quant related problems. Any quant problems should always start with a spectrum.

Figure 1. The teal spectrum shows a strange background versus what a normal spectrum (red) should look like for a material.

This background information tells us that the sample was most likely shadowed and that rotating the sample to face towards the detector may give better results.

Figure 2. Many microscopes can decelerate the beam to help with imaging. This deceleration is great for imaging but can cause EDS quant issues. Therefore, we recommend reviewing the spectrum up front to reduce the number of emails to troubleshoot this issue.

To save the spectrum, right-click in the spectrum window, then click on Save (Figure 3). From there, save the file with a descriptive name, and send it off to the applications group. These spectrum files also include other metadata, such as amp time, working distance, and parameters that give us so many clues to get to the bottom of possible issues.

Figure 3. Saving a spectrum in APEX™ is intuitive. Right-click in the area and a pop-up menu will allow you to save the spectrum wherever you want quickly.

For information on EDS backgrounds and the information they hold, I suggest watching Dr. Jens Rafaelsen’s Background Modeling and Non-Ideal Sample Analysis webinar.

The actual image file can also help us confirm most of the above.

Troubleshooting EBSD can be tricky since the issue could be from sample prep, indexing, or other issues. To begin, it’s important to rule out any variances associated with sample preparation. Useful information to share includes a description of the sample, as well as the step-by-step instructions used to prepare the sample. This includes things like the length of time, pressure, cloth material, polishing compound material, and even the direction of travel. The more details, the better!

Now, how do I know it is a sample prep problem? If the pattern quality is low at long exposure times (Figure 4) or the sample looks very rough, it is probably related to sample preparation (Figure 4). That being said, there could be non-sample prep related issues too.

Figure 4. This pattern is probably not indexable on its own. Better preparation of the sample surface is necessary to index and map this sample correctly.

For general sample prep guidelines, I would highly suggest Matt Nowell’s Learn How I Prepare Samples for EBSD Analysis webinar.

Indexing problems can be challenging to troubleshoot without a full data set. How do I know my main issues could be related to indexing? If indexing is the source, a map often appears to be very speckled or just black due to no indexing results. For this kind of issue, full data sets are the way to go. By full, I mean patterns and OSC files. These files can be exported out of TEAM™/APEX™. They are often quite large, but there are ways available to move the data quickly.

For the basics of indexing knowledge, I suggest checking out my latest webinar, Understanding and Troubleshooting the EDAX Indexing Routine and the Hough Parameters. During this webinar, we highlight attributes that indicate there is an issue with the data set, then dive into the best practices for troubleshooting them.

As for camera set up, this is a dance between the microscope settings, operator’s requirements, and the camera settings. In general, more electrons (higher current) allow the experiment to go faster and cover more area. With older CCD based cameras, understanding this interaction was key to good results. With the newer Velocity™ cameras based on CMOS technology, the dance is much simpler. If you are having difficulty while trying to optimize an older camera, the Understanding and Optimizing EBSD Camera Settings webinar can help.

So how do you get your questions answered fast? Bury us with information. More information lets us dive deeper into the data to find the root cause in the first email, and avoids a lengthy back and forth exchange of emails. If possible, educate yourself using the resources we have made available, be it webinars or training courses. And always, feel free to reach out to my colleagues and me at edax.applications@ametek.com!

Teaching is learning

Dr. René de Kloe, Applications Specialist, EDAX

Figure 1. Participants of my first EBSD training course in Grenoble in 2001.

Everybody is learning all the time. You start as a child at home and later in school and that never ends. In your professional career you will learn on the job and sometimes you will get the opportunity to get a dedicated training on some aspect of your work. I am fortunate that my job at EDAX involves a bit of this type of training for our customers interested in EBSD. Somehow, I have already found myself teaching for a long time without really aiming for it. Already as a teenager when I worked at a small local television station in The Netherlands I used to teach the technical things related to making television programs like handling cameras, lighting, editing – basically everything just as long as it was out of the spotlight. Then during my geology study, I assisted in teaching students a variety of subjects ranging from palaeontology to physics and geological fieldwork in the Spanish Pyrenees. So, unsurprisingly, shortly after joining EDAX in 2001 when I was supposed to simply participate in an introductory EBSD course (fig 1) taught by Dr. Stuart Wright in Grenoble, France, I quickly found myself explaining things to the other participants instead of just listening.

Teaching about EBSD often begins when I do a presentation or demonstration for someone new to the technique. And the capabilities of EBSD are such that just listing the technical specifications of an EBSD system to a new customer does not do it justice. Later when a system has been installed I meet the customers again for the dedicated training courses and workshops that we organise and participate in all over the world.

Figure 2. EBSD IPF map of Al kitchen foil collected without any additional specimen preparation. The colour-coding illustrates the extreme deformation by rolling.

In such presentations, of course we talk about the basics of the method and the characteristics of the EDAX systems, but then it always moves on to how it can help understand the materials and processes that the customer is working with. There, teaching starts working the other way as well. With every customer visit I learn something more about the physical world around us. Sometimes this is about a fundamental understanding of a physical process that I have never even heard of.

At other times it is about ordinary items that we see or use in our daily lives such as aluminium kitchen foil, glass panes with special coatings, or the structure of biological materials like eggs, bone, or shells. Aluminium foil is a beautiful material that is readily available in most labs and I use it occasionally to show EBSD grain and texture analysis when I do not have a suitable polished sample with me (fig 2) and at some point, a customer explained to me in detail how it was produced in a double layer back to back to get one shiny and one matte side. And that explained why it produces EBSD patterns without any additional preparation. Something new learned again.

Figure 3. IPF map of austenitic steel microstructure prepared by additive manufacturing.

A relatively new development is additive manufacturing or 3D printing where a precursor powdered material is melted into place by a laser to create complex components/shapes as a single piece. This method produces fantastically intricate structures (fig 3) that need to be studied to optimise the processing.

With every new application my mind starts turning to identify specific functions in the software that would be especially relevant to its understanding. In some cases, this then turns into a collaborative effort to produce scientific publications on a wide variety of subjects e.g. on zeolite pore structures (1, fig (4)), poly-GeSi films (2, fig (5)), or directional solidification by biomineralization of mollusc shells (3).

Figure 4. Figure taken from ref.1 showing EBSD analysis of zeolite crystals.

Figure 5. Figure taken from ref.2 showing laser crystallised GeSi layer on substrate.

Such collaborations continuously spark my curiosity and it is because of these kinds of discussions that after 17 years I am still fascinated with the EBSD technique and its applications.

This fascination also shows during the EBSD operator schools that I teach. The teaching materials that I use slowly evolve with time as the systems change, but still the courses are not simply repetitions. Each time customers bring their own materials and experiences that we use to show the applications and discuss best practices. I feel that it is true that you only really learn how to do something when you teach it.

This variation in applications often enables me to fully show the extent of the analytical capabilities in the OIM Analysis™ software and that is something that often gets lost in the years after a system has been installed. I have seen many times that when a new system is installed, the users invest a lot of time and effort in getting familiar with the system in order to get the most out of it. However, with time the staff that has been originally trained on the equipment moves on and new people are introduced to electron microscopy and all that comes with it. The original users then train their successor in the use of the system and inevitably something is lost at this point.

When you are highly familiar with performing your own analysis, you tend to focus on the bits of the software and settings that you need to perform your analysis. The bits that you do not use fade away and are not taught to the new user. This is something that I see regularly during the training course that I teach. Of course, there are the new functions that have been implemented in the software that users have not seen before, but people who have been using the system for years and are very familiar with the general operation always find new ways of doing things and discover new functions that could have helped them with past projects during the training courses. During the latest EBSD course in Germany in September a participant from a site where they have had EBSD for many years remarked that he was going to recommend coming to a course to his colleagues who have been using the system for a long time as he had found that the system could do much more than he had imagined.

You learn something new every day.

1) J Am Chem Soc. 2008 Oct 15;130(41):13516-7. doi: 10.1021/ja8048767. Epub 2008 Sep 19.
2) ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, 1 (6) P263-P268 (2012)
3) Adv Mater. 2018 Sep 21:e1803855. doi: 10.1002/adma.201803855. [Epub ahead of print]

How to Increase Your Materials Characterization Knowledge with EDAX

Sue Arnell, Marketing Communications Manager, EDAX

The EDAX Applications and Product Management teams have been very busy offering free ‘continuing education’ workshops in September and October – with a great global response from our partners and customers.

At the end of September, Applications Specialist Shawn Wallace and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) Product Manager Matt Nowell joined 6 additional speakers at a ‘Short Lecture Workshop for EBSD’, sponsored by EDAX at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) at The Ohio State University. The participants attended sessions ranging from ‘EBSD Introduction and Optimization of Collection Parameters for Advanced Application’ to ‘The Dictionary Approach to EBSD: Advances in Highly-Deformed and Fine-Grained Materials’.

Feedback on this workshop included the following comments, “This was a great learning opportunity after working with my lab’s EDAX systems for a couple of months”; “I like the diversity in the public and the talks.  I was very pleased with the overall structure and outcome”; and “Great! Very helpful.”

Matt Nowell presents at the ‘Short Lecture Workshop for EBSD’ at CEMAS, OSU.

In mid-October, EBSD Applications Specialist, Dr. Rene de Kloe traveled to India for a series of workshops on EBSD at the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), the International Advanced Research Center (Hyderabad), and the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai). Topics discussed at the sessions included:

• Effects of measurement and processing parameters on EBSD
• The application of EBSD to routine material characterization
• Defining resolution in EBSD analysis
• Three Dimensional EBSD analysis – temporal and spatial
• Advanced data averaging tools for improved EDS and EBSD mapping – NPAR™
• Microstructural Imaging using an Electron Backscatter Diffraction Detector – PRIAS™
• Transmission EBSD from low to high resolution

Dr. René de Kloe presents at one of three recent workshops in India.

According to our National Sales Manager in India, Arjun Dalvi, “We conducted this seminar at different sites and I would like to share that the response from all our attendees was very good. They were all eager to get the training from Dr. René and to take part in very interactive Q and A sessions, in which many analysis issues were solved.”

Global Applications Manager Tara Nylese was at the Robert A. Pritzker Science Center in Chicago, IL last week to give a presentation on “Materials Characterization with Microscopy and Microanalysis” for the Illinois Institute of Technology. “In this lecture, we started with a basic introduction to electron microscopy, and then dived deeper into the fundamentals of X-ray microanalysis. We explored both the basics of X-ray excitation, and how to evaluate peaks in an X-ray spectrum. From there, we looked at applied examples such as composition variation in alloys, chemical mapping of components of pharmaceutical tablets, and some fascinating underlying elemental surprises in biological materials.”

Finally, today we have 50 participants at the Geological Museum in Cambridge, MA for a training workshop given by Dr. Jens Rafaelsen and sponsored by Harvard University on “Taking TEAM™ EDS Software to the Next Level” * Presentation topics include:

• Basic operation of the TEAM™ EDS Analysis package
• How to get the most out of TEAM™ EDS Analysis
• Advanced training
• Tips and Tricks using TEAM™ EDS Analysis

Dr. Jens Rafaelsen presents at the Harvard workshop.

Here at EDAX, we are keen to provide our customers, potential customers, and partners with opportunities to improve their knowledge and polish their skills using the techniques, which are central to the EDAX product portfolio.  Our EDS, EBSD, WDS and XRF experts enjoy helping with regular training sessions, webinars, and workshops. If you would like to be included, please check for upcoming webinars, workshops, and training sessions at www.edax.com.

*A video of these workshop sessions will be available from EDAX in the coming weeks.

Thoughts from a Summer Intern

Kylie Simpson, Summer Intern 2017, EDAX

This summer at EDAX, I have had the opportunity not only to build upon the skills that I acquired here last summer and throughout my academic year, but also to acquire new skills enabling me to better understand energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), materials science, and applied physics. Having access to state-of-the-art microscopes, detectors, and literature has certainly played a large role in my take-away from this summer, but the most valuable aspect of my time at EDAX is the expertise of those around me. Working with the applications team provided me with the opportunity to work alongside the different groups, including the engineering, sales and marketing, and technical support groups, as well as with customers via demos, training courses, and webinars. Not to mention the plethora of knowledge within the applications team itself. The willingness of other EDAX employees not only to help me, but also to explain and teach me how to solve the problems I encountered was extremely helpful.

The major projects I worked on this summer were compiling a user manual for the EDAX APEX™ software, collecting data for a steel library, and tuning a PID system for the thermoelectric cooler used in EDAX detectors. Creating a user manual for APEX™ enabled me to fully understand the software and describe it in a clear and useful way for our customers. I used LaTeX™ software to compile the manual, which exposed me to a very powerful typesetting tool while optimizing the layout and accessibility of the manual. Because I was not involved in the design of APEX™, I was able to write the user manual from the perspective of a new user. As a student and a newer user of EDAX software, I have recognized how useful APEX™ is for beginners and hope that the user manual will help to complement its value.

Figure 1: The EDAX APEX™ User Manual.

The steel library project that I worked on was very interesting because I compiled data that will simplify and aid customers working with steel samples. I collected spectra for nearly 100 steel standards and compared the quant results to the known values to confirm the accuracy of the data. This data will soon be available for purchase by customers who would like to compare the spectra from unknown samples to those of known standards using the spectrum match feature.

Figure 2: Me using one of our scopes to collect data.

Additionally, I was able to work with the engineering team to tune a PID system for the thermoelectric cooler inside all EDAX detectors. The module of each detector must reach a set point temperature in a set period of time and remain stable. By making small changes to the parameters and determining their impact, I ran tests over several weeks to optimize the cooling of the detector. These parameters will be used in future development of EDAX detectors, enabling them to work even more accurately.

Figure 3: The PID system I worked with and me.

Overall, my experience at EDAX has been very positive, providing me with the skills and knowledge to succeed and excel in both academics and my career.

EDAX China User Meeting in Guiyang 贵阳用户会流水帐

Dr. Sophie Yan, Applications Engineer China, EDAX

EDAX China User Meeting, Guiyang.

EDAX held a China user meeting in Guiyang, Guizhou province in July 2017. We had a wonderful time with over 100 customers and colleagues. The User Meeting was very interesting; the weather is cool in summer; and the activities after the meeting were great fun.. I have several pictures to show the different moments…
Generally, Guiyang is not very popular with Chinese people. In Shanghai, there are luxuries in Huaihai Road and crowds in Nanjing Road; in Beijing, you find the solemn Tiananmen Square and desolate The Great Wall, but in Guiyang, I just had an impression of a poverty-stricken mountain area. Then I met a friend from Guiyang, she also talked about poverty and the mountain area, but she was much more enthusiastic about the region. She said it was warm in winter and cool in summer; she said the mountain and water were so nice. She was a stylish girl, living an exquisite life; but she always wished she could go back to hometown earlier. From then on, Guiyang became a kind of mystery in my mind.
其实我对贵阳思慕已久。
上海上海，是淮海路的名牌南京路的热闹；北京北京，是天安门的庄严长城的苍凉。贵阳，有什么？大山的贫瘠与封闭？直到当年，我碰到一位朋友，来自贵阳。她也说起大山及贫穷，但是她的话里，那里冬暖夏凉，水暖山温。那位朋友，思想前卫，生活精致，心心念念的，却是早日回家。至此，贵阳，在我心里是颇为神秘的所在。
After so many years, when I arrived in Guiyang, the feeling of mystery and novelty disappeared. The airport looks great and the billboard is modern and impressive. It was no different from other places, except that it’s 10 degrees cooler than Shanghai. I shared this image in ‘wechat’ moments, then got a lot of ’likes’.
一念多年。当踏上这个城市的土地，我所以为的一切，新奇，神秘，通通颠覆。这里的机场不小，广告牌也一派摩登气派。和我去过的地方并无多大不同。除了，比起火炉一般的江浙沪低了十度，发在微信朋友圈，引起一片哀号。看看这一张截图，就拉了多少仇恨。

During the conference our VP Mark Grey came and delivered a corporate introduction. Nan Lin from Singapore and local applications showed new product information: EDS, EBSD, XRF, etc.
开会中……VP Mark过来作公司简介，新加坡的林楠以及国内的应用分别作产品介绍……EDS，EBSD，XRF，嗯，分工明确。

Invited speakers shared their research work in the afternoon. Each one generated lively discussion. The EDAX user meeting is not only an opportunity to show EDAX products, it is also a platform for users’ to communicate with each other and discuss current challenges in microanalysis.
下午各位嘉宾给大家作邀请报告……每个报告都引起了热烈的反应，讨论得不亦乐乎……EDAX的用户会不单是一个产品展示的环节，更是一个用户交流的平台……

Speakers at the China User Meeting 2017

Imagine the scenery outside. The weather forecast showed 29 degree(Celsius), but it was cool actually. Green trees and a humid atmosphere made the sultry summer go away.
开会中间例行出来拍照，当时天气预报29度，但是风吹得非常凉爽。分明才是初夏的温度，凉风习习的感觉。加上四周绿树葱茏，空气中的润泽气息，盛夏的酷热，早已远离。

 
The hotel located beside Guanshanhu Park, which was gorgeous.
酒店在观山湖公园旁边，风景如画（图片来自百度，笔者拍照无能……）		 No one was in this corner of the park. Red flowers were quietly in bloom.
傍晚的公园角落寂寂无人，一丛红花在碎石小径上静静盛开。

We went to Huangguoshu waterfall! The white waterfall poured down. I felt the vapor and steam: it was amazing.
当然这次贵阳之行的精妙处不止于此……还有我最为盼望的——黄果树瀑布！如匹练的白色倾泻直下，瀑布脚下水汽氤氲，在近处感受那赫赫声势，大自然的鬼斧神工，实非人力所能及。
Just behind the hill, the water from the waterfall formed a lake, gentle and quiet.
瀑布积水成湖，湖水温柔静谧。水的另一面。

We also experienced the different culture of the local ethnic minority. Terraced fields, bamboo buildings，songs and dance from local people. Attractive.
我们还顺便见识了少数民族的多样文化。梯田，依山而建的竹楼，以及多姿多彩的歌舞。不虚此行。

Finally, we are looking forward to the next user meeting in China!
流水帐完结处，唯愿年年有今日，岁岁有今朝！

Journey of Learning: Teaching Yourself the Power of EBSD

Shawn Wallace – Applications Engineer, EDAX

The joy of learning is sadly something that many people forget about and some never really feel. One of the things I like to keep in mind when I am learning something new is that learning is usually not a eureka moment, but a process of combining concepts and ideas already known, to reach a new solution or idea. The reason I was thinking about learning as a process is because recently I found myself forgetting that. A customer sample came in that was, for EBSD, hard in every way: Difficult crystal system/orientation, sample prep issues, poor diffractor. With all those factors, the sample was putting up a fight and winning, mainly because I allowed it to. I had tried all my normal tricks and was not making much headway. I knew the sample was analyzable, but I was not treating the process as a personal learning opportunity, instead I was treating it as a fight that I had to win. I was quickly bouncing from potential solution to potential solution and trying them, without spending much time on thinking what would be best to try and how to tackle the problem as a problem, and not a challenge. I didn’t even frame it that way in my own head until a week later when I was visiting a customer site to do some training.

During the training session, a sample came up with a very different set of problems, but still ones that were stymieing us as we sat at the microscope. I found the user resorting to what I had done previously; just try this and see if it works, without thinking about what the best course of action was. As I sat there, I told them to take a step back and evaluate what the issue was and how we could use our knowledge of all the functions available to us in the TEAM™ software and/or our microscope to find a solution. We sat and talked about the issue and the user was able to come up with a game plan and try some things that would help him reach a solution or gain additional knowledge, aka LEARN. I learned that day – that I sometimes need to treat myself the way I would treat a user. There will always be cases when I don’t know the answer and I have to teach myself the solution.

That leads us to an open question. How do you learn EBSD as you go along? With that in mind, here at EDAX we are going to start a new series of blog posts to discuss the basics of EBSD, from pattern formation, the Hough Transform, and finally indexing. More importantly, I hope to touch on how to troubleshoot issues using your newfound understanding of these concepts and tie the entire processes together as they all play off each other.

My final goal is get your creative juices flowing to dive deeper into understanding the kind of questions that EBSD can answer, and how that, in the end, can provide you with an incredible understanding of your analysis challenges and ultimately a solution to the problem. EBSD is one of the most powerful analytical techniques that I know. It can answer the simple questions (what phase is my sample?) to the incredibly complex (if I squeeze my sample this way, which grains will tend to deform first?). As your knowledge grows, EBSD is one step ahead of you, egging you on to learn more and more. I hope to be your guide on this Journey of Learning. I think I will learn quite a bit too.

From Intern to Analyst – Studying the Impact of ‘Non-Ideal’ Samples on Quant Results

Kylie Simpson and Robert Rosenthal, 2016 Summer Interns at EDAX

Being surrounded by equipment worth more than your average college student can even fathom is incredibly daunting. Your heart still skips a beat at every hiss or beep that the microscope produces. Not to mention the fear of ramming into the pole piece while inserting the EDS detector (we later learned there was a hard stop to prevent this but it never quite seemed to alleviate the fear). It’s hard to summarize all of the experiences from our internship at EDAX this summer. While it was only about two and a half months, the sheer amount knowledge we gained through hands on experience is unquantifiable. The five day EDS training course in itself contained enough information to be taught over an entire college semester.

Working with the Applications team gave us a real feel for what EDAX is all about. Not only did we get to work on a summer-long project, we also got to work with the marketing, engineering, and software teams on a regular basis. We also helped with support for the new APEX software. This work setting provided us with a plethora of new knowledge, not only of the physics and programming behind EDAX software but also of the inner workings of the company and the crucial role that teamwork plays in accomplishing tasks. Having access to an electron microscope as well as the specialized knowledge of the members of the Applications team enabled us to get the most out of our summer here at EDAX. After sitting in on a meeting with other members of the Applications team, we were exposed to some of the real-world problems faced by customers on a regular basis and decided to investigate this further with our summer project.

When collecting quantification results for EDS, the ZAF matrix corrections are based on the assumption that the sample is flat, homogeneous, and infinitely thick to the electron beam. Although these are the ideal collection requirements, many customers run into problems when their samples do not meet these assumptions. We spent our time here testing the impact of ‘non-ideal’ samples on quant results while also determining ways for customers to improve the accuracy of quant results with these samples. We tested samples with rough topography by scratching up and polishing a stainless steel and a pyrite sample (Figure 1). By collecting a counts per second map for the steel (Figure 2), we were able to visualize the impact of rough samples and confirm the need for sample prep.

Figure 1. Pyrite particles and polished pyrite Figure 2. CPS maps of stainless steel surfaces

We also tested inhomogeneous samples, including a Lead-Tin solder sample and a stainless steel sample (pictured below). By collecting spectra of these samples at different magnifications, we observed the correlation between lower magnification and a higher accuracy of quant results.

Figure 3: Lead-Tin solder and stainless steel samples

Finally, we tested the impact of thin samples on quant results using an aluminum coated piece of silicon. This sample was very hard to obtain, being that we had to coat the silicon five separate times, but it yielded very interesting results (see graph (left) in Figure 4 below). Our results illustrated the influence and importance of collecting spectra while also allowing us to back-calculate the thickness of each aluminum layer (pictured in Figure 4 (right) below).

Figure 4.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our summer at EDAX and will take away not only knowledge of EDS, EBSD, SEMs, computer programming, and teamwork, but also valuable problem solving skills applicable to classes, professions, and other real-world scenarios that we will encounter in the future.

Meet the Interns

Kylie Simpson: Kylie is currently a student at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. She is participating in a duel-degree program with Colby College and Dartmouth College and is studying mechanical engineering and physics.

Robert Rosenthal: Robbie is currently a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He in going into his junior year studying Mechanical Engineering.

Training classes and You

Shawn Wallace, Applications Engineer, EDAX

Over the last month or so, I have spent quite a bit of time training people on our systems. Between a workshop, the Lehigh Microscopy school, two webinars, and two in-house training courses, I have interacted with all levels of users. This had me thinking back to my experiences, years ago on the other side of the desk in the EDAX classroom and what I learned from the courses. With that in mind, I began thinking about what our customers/students can do to get the best out of our training sessions.

The biggest thing they can do is to spend time familiarizing themselves with the general operation of their complete system: their SEM, our systems, and most importantly, with their samples.  Sit down, fiddle with things and just learn how different settings interact; Amp time and Deadtime for EDS, Camera settings for EBSD (see my ‘Camera Optimization’ webinar). The main thing this does is makes you start thinking about what these settings are doing and how they work with your samples. While you do this, you will start to formulate questions in your mind. For some of these questions you will be able to come to an answer. Some will be directly answered during the course. Others will click while you listen and make connections to your work and I will see that ‘Aha!’ moment on your face as you figure out, why that little trick worked or possibly failed miserably.  By spending the time to figure out things on your own, you are getting in the right mindset to come to our courses and ask questions.

This leads to the second biggest thing you can do: Ask me questions! That is why engaging with your system is so important. You are setting yourself up to ask pertinent questions about your samples and your systems. You are finding your natural work flow, but our job is to help you to optimize it, to help you to understand what you are doing, and most importantly help you to understand why you should do it that way. This is why running your system with your samples is a very important thing to do before you come to our courses.

Another reason for asking questions is that you need to be an active learner and engage with your instructor (aka me). Ever sat in a college class and had the teacher just talk and talk and talk for hours on a subject as you sip your coffee to try to keep yourself from dozing off? Ever taught a class and looked at the faces of people sipping their coffee as their heads do that little nod as they fail to stay awake? It’s not fun for either person. I always start my training courses by saying that I want questions. I want you to be engaged and thinking during the entirety of my courses. I want it to not be a lecture, but a conversation. I want that instant feedback to help me understand what concepts you are struggling with and what topics are clicking, so that I can dive deeper into subjects that I need to.

That’s it. That is all you need to do to come to our courses and get the most out of them. Be prepared and be engaged. You will absorb the information we are giving you and you will be able to take it home and put it to use to get better and faster results, while understanding what the system is doing at a much deeper level.

With all that said, there is one more important step. You should never stop learning. Luckily for you, the applications team here at EDAX is always creating new resources for our customers to use to learn with. Sometimes it is quick blog post about some neat new feature we have implemented, at other times it’s a webinar covering the most difficult aspects of microanalysis.

I hope to see you soon on the other side of a desk. Happy Learning in the meantime!

Click here for more information about upcoming EDAX training sessions.