Sep 16 2008
Imago Scientific Instruments announced today that its LEAP® family of atom-probe microscopes is a recipient of the prestigious R+D 100 Award for 2008. A panel of industry experts appointed by Research and Development magazine announced the LEAP3000 HR® system's award "as one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year."
Imago Scientific Instruments is the world's leading provider of atom-probe microscopes. Imago's LEAP technology allows materials science researchers to analyze specimens in three dimensions with near-atomic resolution and compositional imaging, offering key insights into how a material's atomic structure affects its mechanical, electrical and magnetic properties.
The new LEAP "HR" family of microscopes was released in June 2007 for a wide range of materials research applications. The "HR" designates that the product offers best-in-class High (mass) Resolution enabling the analysis of individual atoms to be performed with unprecedented compositional accuracy in voltage-pulse mode. The LEAP 3000 HR configuration provides the highest voltage-pulse mass resolution ever offered on a commercial three-dimensional atom probe. The LEAP 3000X HR™ configuration adds laser-based atom-probe capability in addition to voltage-pulsing mode. The HR microscope, combines large field of view with high mass resolution making the HR the perfect choice for material science research particularly for metallurgy and other advanced materials applications. The LEAP HR is the latest atom-probe solution from Imago and complements the LEAP 3000X Si™ product family which was developed for, and is targeted at, semiconductor and microelectronics applications.
Professor Alfred Cerezo of the University of Oxford's Department of Materials, commented, "The LEAP 3000X HR is the clear choice for our multi-user facility because it combines excellent mass resolution, laser-pulsing capability, and high throughput in one machine. Imago already set the standard for rapid analysis of significant volumes of material, and the HR upgrade now gives us the highest available mass resolution for studies of engineering alloys."
This is the third occasion in five years that Imago's LEAP microscope family has been selected for the R&D 100 award. Imago won an R&D 100 in 2004 for developing the LEAP 3000 platform which revolutionized the study of metallic alloys with its ability to measure atomic-level clusters and precipitates. In 2006 Imago won an R&D 100 award for the development of a new laser-pulsed ionization mode, which enables analysis of poor electrical conductors including semiconductors and ceramics. All of these breakthroughs, including the most recent LEAP HR, can be provided to customers as a field upgrade protecting customer's investment in the LEAP platform.