My kids are funny and weird, probably not related to my parenting at all…

My son looked over at me writing a service report and thought this picture looked like a potato. We’ve all seen this a thousand times working on SEMs from our service engineers, but a little bit of imagination goes a long way in our house.

This interaction with my progeny made me reflect on how we all see the world differently based on our life experiences. 

Later in the week, a colleague called and needed help with a problem. A Z-Axis motor would not home properly because it had driven past the home point during a power outage. The motor needed to be driven back, but the customer did not know how far to drive it safely. I was able to give images of the Z-Axis motor on that particular stage model and help him determine the best advice to give the customer.  

What we at STS have had experience with gives us a distinct advantage when troubleshooting complex problems. Where our customers and other engineers might see a potato, we see a path to a solution. 

Call 1-888-458-4035 or email us at service@superior-technical.com. Your success is our success!

I bet you’ve seen something like this before.

Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s just a dirty holder or maybe the sample got mounted a little funky.

Service call placed.

It’s a snapped counterweight cable and now what?

The stage gets dropped, the cable gets replaced, and the stage gets put back in and aligned.

But, what was the root cause?

Did your service representative give you a comprehensive report explaining the issue?

Turns out that there was a failed bearing on this stage that the cable rides on, but it was not necessary to remove the bearing to replace the cable. This could have led to an additional failure if it was not checked before re-installation.

Care and attention to detail distinguish us from other service organizations and your OEM.

Call 1-888-458-4035 or email us at service@superior-technical.com. Your success is our success!

When that image needs a little extra love from the stigmators to become clear and the focus value just “isn’t what it used to be”.

Tired of the column “just needing some alignment”?

Maybe there’s a deeper problem, one that can’t just be aligned out of the system. A possible root cause could be a dirty pole tip. It’s easy to check and correct.

A quick and clean diagnosis of your imaging problems can make doing that daily grind positively pleasant. Let us help you!

Call 1888-458-4035 or email us at service@superior-technical.com. Your success is our success!

Sometimes you show up to work and you’re ready to get that sample prep done and BAM!, you’ve got a lens cooling error.

You checked the chiller and it looks like a vanilla frappe is being brewed up in earnest. What’s next?

STS can help you get the tool into a safe state over the phone and then get you scheduled for an on-site visit where we root cause that frothy milk bath in your chiller.

It turns out that, after a bit of troubleshooting, a systemic problem was discovered on this particular tool.

In addition to some dirty lines and leaky connections, the sealant around the top of one of the flowmeters was separated just enough to act like a straw sucking air into the system.

A full cleaning and replacement of the cooling system sets things right again.

Call 1-888-458-4035 or email us at service@superior-technical.com. Your success is our success!

Did you know that you don’t have to go to your OEM for consumables? We know that having reliable consistent consumables makes life so much easier. We install and warranty all of our consumables so you can feel confident that your DualBeam will stay running smooth. 

STS Supplies consumables for things like:

Liquid Metal Ion Sources (LMIS’s) for Pre-Lens, Magnum, and Sidewinder Ion Columns

Gas Chemistries for Metal Depositions

Ion Beam Aperture Strips – Standard and Custom

Call 1-888-458-4035 or email us at service@superior-technical.com. Your success is our success!

Staring down a potential column replacement? Have some strange imaging artifacts? We know that is costly and expensive. We know that you need to justify the expense. Get the proper data you need to to fix your system! 

Have your issues diagnosed properly! We rebuild Ion Columns, replace them, and warranty our work. 

What truly makes a STS the correct choice for Service? That is a question we at STS ask ourselves a lot.

Service excellence is marked by a commitment to quality and balance of customer needs. I saw a quote the other day that said something to the effect that the savings had from poor service is always outweighed by the poor quality. So what makes a service company great?

Below is a picture of the inside of several Ion columns I have worked on in the past year. Each one of these pictures has gone into a detailed report summary of the service visit. Why is this important? Now we have an indisputable record of the interior of the column. Every scar, arc, and discoloration documented. When one of us opens that same column to troubleshoot an issue in the future we have a reference to fall back on, which in turn means faster diagnosis and resolution.

You’re thinking that this is totally obvious and must be standard practice for all service organizations, maybe not! I would challenge your service provider to give you an accurate and complete history of your instrument. Can they provide you with the level of detail and accuracy consistent with the cost of your service contract? 

Establishing expectations isn’t unreasonable, it’s great business.

Have some Ion Beam issues? We can help! Call 1-888-458-4035 or email us at service@superior-technical.com