Phase I: Development of a low-cost scanning electron microscope

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Our team at UBC is developing a compact, atmospheric scanning electron microscope named "AweSEM". Our system leverages a novel electron emission effect on a carbon nanomaterial that was discovered in our lab to develop a system with a smaller footprint, lower power consumption, and considerably less cost than a typical scanning electron microscope. Our goals for this proposal are to develop a minimal viable product that can image at a resolution of 1 micrometre robustly and repeatably in atmosphere with a backscattered electron detector. These technical milestones were set based on feedback from companies that were interviewed during the NSERC-funded I2I market assessment phase. The results from that assessment indicated a need for AweSEM within the microelectronics and materials manufacturing space. These sectors represent a beachhead market opportunity of ~$450M. 75% of the interviewed companies indicated their willingness to beta-test our minimum viable product in an industrial setting following the successful completion of this I2I phase 1, with a view to becoming an early adopter.