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Developing a New SEM with Seamless Surface Imaging to Elemental Analysis and Reporting

A Slow Progress toward Software Integration

Progress on EDS integration was slow due to technical challenges.
While physically attaching the EDS system to the SEM main unit is easy, a separate computer and monitor are required for EDS data analysis. This means that the procedure for operating the SEM and EDS involves the extra step of actively switching to the EDS once a site is identified by the SEM system. The operation is cumbersome and inefficient. Team member, Hisashi Zaimoku, who struggled over this exact problem, wanted to design a system for seamless operations of the EDS and SEM.
Zaimoku was selected for the development project for his long-planned idea on SEM and proceeded with the software development in support of the department in charge of EDS development at JEOL.
He stressed his idea, saying “For example, it is better to have a smartphone than having a feature phone and a music player separately, isn't it? What we should make today is a smartphone.” But he could not gain much support. What instrument developers or software builders think is important may not necessarily be useful for actual users. He used up all his energy and got exhausted just to explain this simple principle.

Hisashi Zaimoku

Hisashi Zaimoku

System Group 2, System Development Dept., JEOL Technics Ltd.
Hobbies & Skills :Electric guitar

In charge of the SEM software development, including GUI design. For this development project, he developed the software for integral use of SEM and EDS functions intended for seamless operations from observation to analysis and reporting. While integral operation systems are generally complex, he proposed and implemented a new highly-usable operation system from users' perspective.

Developer's Pride

Zaimoku received advice from his immediate manager, which was that communication among developers is important. So, he prepared rooms for external engineers including vendor engineers involved in the software development at the JEOL Techniques premises to have all development members gather together in one place. With this unusual development in the organization, development engineers could engage in the development through face-to-face communication, which became a basis of their development practices that allowed them to fully exercise comprehensive technological competencies of the JEOL Group.
As purposes and output data of SEM imaging and EDS elemental analysis are different, it was quite difficult to effectively show them within the same monitor screen. Further, software developers tend to list all information items on one screen as they place importance on satisfying all requirements and specifications. This makes screen contents look complicated and necessitates more clicks and operations. This cannot be “easy-to-use.”
Zaimoku cut right through these issues. The input that he obtained from an application group that used the SEM for the most practical applications of actual users convinced him to stick to the design goals of simplicity and ease of use. He managed to create an interface that allowed the user to obtain the results of EDS analyses with a single click of a button.

Software of JSM-IT500HR

Software of JSM-IT500HR

A Report Feature as Easy to Use as Your Microwave

Besides the ease of imaging and analysis, the JSM-IT500HR is equipped with an easy-to-use reporting function. Given that a novice SEM user may not fully understand the analysis displayed on the screen, it would be challenging for them generate multiple result reports. To that end, the developers built a platform that allows any user to generate an instant report with a single click of a button.
"For example, kitchen microwave has specialized functions and buttons such as 'gratin mode.' However, most of us hardly use such functions and we can use microwave and accomplish an objective without using them by just pressing one or more buttons several times. Basically, the same can apply to SEM. Being usable without referring to an instruction manual and troublesome procedures... Such things are important in our SEM," insisted the four developers.
In August 2017, after non-stop efforts of the development team and the contribution of many other engineers, the new SEM model JSM-IT500HR with the new hardware and integrated EDS functions was launched.

The word branded in the SEM catalog is indicative of the attitude of the development team: "Nonstop!” The new SEM built by JEOL’s developers and with the user in mind is a major milestone in the company’s innovation.
The common sense for the SEM is now dramatically changing.

Completed JSM-IT500HR and the developers

Completed JSM-IT500HR and the developers

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