SmartStitch

At the screen’s top, you will find a traditional menu and toolbar setup. The toolbar buttons act as convenient shortcuts to frequently-used menu options.

Moving to the left side of the screen, you’ll come across the control panel, which serves as the primary interaction hub. This control panel has three tabs at the top, allowing you to switch between different modes such as stage scanning and image stitching, or to access advanced settings. If the application is running offline, without SmartSEM, the stage scan tab won’t be visible.

Located at the bottom of the screen is a scrollable logging area. This area is used for providing feedback and may also display error codes or diagnostic information in case of unexpected issues.

The central and most substantial portion of the screen serves as the primary workspace. Here, image tiles will be displayed as a montage as they are acquired from the microscope or imported from disk. More detailed information about each of these screen areas will be covered in subsequent sections.

The control panel, situated on the left side of the main workspace, provides a straightforward way to toggle between stage scanning and image stitching modes. You can easily switch between these modes by selecting the respective tab whenever needed. An example of the control panel view is displayed above.

It’s important to note that there are two control panel layout options, catering to individual preferences. The example illustrates the initial step in the stage scanning process using the ‘guided mode’ interface, consisting of four steps that can be navigated using the Next and Previous buttons located at the control panel’s bottom, as demonstrated.

Alternatively, selecting the ‘Advanced user interface’ option from the View menu condenses all four steps into a single panel. This mode is designed to offer a more convenient interface for experienced users.

A similar difference exists on the image stitching tab, where the ‘guided mode’ comprises two panels, while the advanced mode is a single panel. Unlike the stage scan panels, the advanced stitching panel provides greater control over the configuration of the stitching process.

You have the flexibility to switch between ‘guided’ and ‘advanced’ views at any time. You can seamlessly transition from following the guided stage scanning procedure to utilizing the advanced image stitching interface, or vice versa.

The central area of the SmartStitch display serves as the primary workspace. It is where the composite image montage is presented and where users interact using the mouse and/or keyboard.

In stage scan mode, after moving through the wizard, the main workspace displays a grid of fields that represent the presently chosen scanning parameters. Additionally, a red marker follows the stage’s position, allowing users to correlate the current SmartSEM image with the overall display. An illustration of this is provided below for reference.

The provided screenshot offers a view of a grid consisting of 5 rows and 7 columns of scan fields, each with a 10% overlap. Within this grid, the red cross signifies the stage’s current position, while the red corner markers define the current field of view on the sample. It’s worth noting that if beam shift is employed, these markers may not align as depicted above. However, the red cross consistently represents the stage’s position, and the corner markers adjust according to the current beam offset.

When an auto-grab process is initiated, the primary workspace dynamically updates as the stage scan progresses. The red stage position indicator and corner markers move in sync with the stage’s motion, or if beam shift is automatically adjusted. At each field stop, an image is captured from SmartSEM and displayed in the corresponding position within the primary workspace. This process allows you to witness the gradual assembly of the complete image as each field is populated.

In image stitching mode, the primary workspace maintains a similar format, although the stage position indicator is omitted, and any unoccupied scan fields are disregarded. The image tiles are presented according to the Stage XY information within the TIF headers, which may not always result in a perfect alignment due to constraints on the precision of mechanical stage movement and potential discrepancies between stage coordinates and pixel size encoded in the images, such as from incorrect magnification calibration or hysteresis correction.

An illustration of the primary workspace in image stitching mode is provided below.