The purpose of this procurement is to enhance the research and development capabilities of Microelectronics Research Group and Advanced Electronics Centre (at University of Oulu) by acquiring a next-generation integrated optical 3D microscope with laser-based elemental analysis capability operating within the same software platform.

The imaging and analysis methods currently available do not fully meet the present research requirements and do not enable sufficiently precise, rapid and user-independent three-dimensional measurement and analysis of surface structures with excellent depth of field, nor the evaluation of material composition within a single measurement platform.

The system to be procured must enable ultra-high resolution 2D and 3D surface imaging, quantitative surface topography analysis, and the evaluation of material composition and material structures through rapid and user-friendly microscope-integrated elemental analysis operating through a unified software environment. The system must provide an easy all-in-one solution for observation, measurement, and inspection, including automated measurement workflows, automated image stitching for large-area imaging, and motorized XYZ stage enabling automated sample positioning and scanning. The microscope must also support flexible observation geometries, including free-angle observation combined with the motorized stage, allowing efficient analysis of complex surface structures.

The system will support materials research, microstructure analysis, failure and quality control investigations, and multidisciplinary research and teaching collaboration.

The procurement is co-funded by the Research Council of Finland, FIRI 2023: roadmap research infrastructures 2021 - 2024.

The estimated value of the procurement is 150 000 EUR (excluding value-added tax).