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ABSTRACT:
Robert
Nordmeyer, Robert Glaeser, and colleagues have invented a
robot that automatically scans standard electron microscope
film and stores the scanned data into a database. All the
user has to do to is load up to 750 photographic films into
the robot and start the process. Manual loading is currently
the only available alternative for scanning film and requires
the operator to load a new film approximately every ten minutes.
The Berkeley Lab robot eliminates over 120 hours of manual
operating time per 750 scans.
Because scanning photographic film is highly labor intensive,
digital cameras using charge coupled device (CCD) technology
are gaining appeal in electron microscopy labs. The Berkeley
Lab robot automates the scanning process, eliminating the
need to convert to digital imaging.
In addition, even the newest digital cameras are built with
only 4,000 x 4,000 pixels. Due to poor scintillator performance
for high-energy electrons, such cameras deliver significantly
fewer pixels per image than are included in the CCD hardware
itself. Photographic images, on the other hand, can be scanned
at 10,000 X 13,000 pixels. Eight or more shots would have
to be taken on a high-end CCD camera in order to cover the
same area at the same resolution that is achieved in a single
photographic image. Another disadvantage of digital cameras
is that the electron beam illuminates and destroys a significantly
larger area of the sample than is imaged. The necessity to
take multiple shots of new areas with the CCD camera is not
only time consuming but multiplies this effect.
The scanning robot consists of an "unscanned film”
supply stack, a "scanned film" storage stack, a
motorized stage for transporting the film from the supply
stack to the scanner film cartridge and returning the film
to the storage stack, and a custom-designed plate for holding
the film in a flat plane without creating optical fringes.
The robot is run by Berkeley Lab proprietary software that
characterizes and corrects the linearity, MTF, geometric distortions
and signal-to-noise ratio. The Berkeley Lab robot is designed
to work with a Nikon Super Coolscan 8000 ED scanner.
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