PEABODY, MA – Technical Manufacturing Corporation (TMC)
has improved upon the original design of its Mag-NetX™ magnetic field cancellation system
to allow for easier installation and service and to make Mag-NetX more adaptable to
customers’ changing needs. The stainless steel struts are now modular and interchangeable
and available in a variety of lengths to accommodate virtually every commercial SEM. In
addition, a new modular corner piece is designed with integrated electronics for easy
installation and service. TMC demonstrated Mag-NetX at Microscopy & Microanalysis 2011
in Nashville, Tennessee, in August.
Building on its expertise as a designer and manufacturer of active vibration isolation
systems that cancel building floor vibrations, TMC developed Mag-NetX™ to actively
compensate for magnetic field fluctuations caused by nearby machinery, elevators, power
lines, and other external sources. Such sources can diminish the performance of scanning and
transmission electron microscopes, electron beam lithography systems, focused ion beam
instruments, and other tools that incorporate a charged beam.
“Ambient floor vibration and magnetic field interference present the same challenge:
How to precisely control the focus of a charged beam disturbed by external influences. And
often it’s not clear which source is the limiting influence,” said Steve Ryan, TMC vice
president, marketing. “Our state-of-the-art precision vibration isolation systems cancel floor
vibration. It just makes sense to also offer our customers magnetic field cancellation to
provide a complete environmental solution.”
Designed for both point-of-use and OEM applications, the open cube-shaped MagNetX
detects magnetic fields and sends out an equal and opposite field to cancel the
interference. The system consists of a dedicated controller with automated calibration and
self-test features, AC and DC magnetic sensor, and Helmholtz coils in a structural casing. It
can be floor-,wall-, or tool-mounted and sized to user-specific requirements. The system is
dynamic, continuously monitoring and achieves 35-40 dB of attenuation.
TMC designs and manufactures precision vibration isolation systems for sensitive
research and manufacturing processes worldwide. The ISO 9001:2008-certified company’s
products include active and passive vibration isolation systems; optical tops, optical table
systems, and breadboards; laboratory tables and table top platforms; floor platforms;
magnetic field cancellation and electric field shielding systems; and acoustic enclosures.