Step General Settings

General settings required for each step, independent of the specific step type.

  • step_type (str): The type of operation to be completed, a string which must be a member of the StepType enum in the types module. The available enumerations are

    • image: A step to collect a micrograph with either the electron or ion beams.

    • laser: A step to ablate material with the femtosecond laser.

    • fib: A step to mill material with the ion beam, will also collect an image of the surface.

    • ebsd: A step to initiate an EBSD scan that has been preset by the user on the EBSD-controlled computer. Users must utilize a EBSD OEM supported by Thermo Fisher to utilize this functionality.

    • eds: A step to initiate an EDS scan that has been preset by the user on the EBSD-controlled computer. Users must utilize a EDS OEM supported by Thermo Fisher to utilize this functionality.

    • custom: A step to run a custom script as a subprocess.

  • step_number (int): The total number of steps in the experiment, an integer. This parameter must be greater than 0.

  • frequency (int): How often to perform a specific step, an integer. For some frequency , the step will be performed every slice. Useful for intermittent collection of some data types that can take longer to collect, such as EDS. This parameter must be greater than 0, and a frequency of 1 will perform this step on every slice.

stage

Information on location of the stage and how the stage should be moved.

  • rotation_side (str): The side on the R axis on which the step should be completed, a string which must be a member of the RotationSide enum in the types module. Primarily controls how the Y axis will move (positive or negative direction) when the sample is pretilted. More details can be found here. The available enumerations are

    • fsl_mill: Typically used for laser machining and EBSD operations.
    • fib_mill: Typically used for FIB milling and imaging operations.
    • ebeam_normal: A special case currently utilized only in custom scripts. Not recommended for normal operations.

initial_position

The starting position of the step on the first slice, taken in Thermo Fisher Scientific's RAW Stage Coordinate system. For details on this, click here.

  • x_mm (float): The starting RAW position of the X axis in units of millimeters, a float.

  • y_mm (float): The starting RAW position of the Y axis in units of millimeters, a float.

  • z_mm (float): The starting RAW position of the Z axis in units of millimeters, a float.

  • t_deg (float): The starting RAW position of the T axis in units of degrees, a float.

  • r_deg (float): The starting RAW position of the R axis in units of degrees, a float.