|
|
Gamry ceased production of
the
FAS2™ Femtostat in Summer 2006. The
FAS2™
Femtostat Potentiostat/Galvanostat/ZRA was introduced by Gamry in
1996. It was developed in cooperation with the US Navy to make
reliable EIS measurements on high-quality paints on metal substrates. It was a
unique instrument due to its astounding sensitivity. With a lower
current range of 30 pA full-scale, it was the clear winner of the Low
Current Potentiostat Award.
The FAS2 Femtostat was also the first Gamry instrument to use Sub-Harmonic
Sampling to make the EIS measurement. Sub-Harmonic Sampling is
now used by all Gamry Potentiostats. Sub-Harmonic Sampling
revolutionized EIS measurement...for the first time, serious
electrochemists had a way to make impedance measurements that didn't rely
on a Frequency Response Analyzer, which is a nice instrument and works
very well, but is outrageously expensive.
We made the decision to discontinue the FAS2 Femtostat for two reasons:
1. When we made the engineering change to lead-free electronic
components in 2006, we found that several key components of the Femtostat
were going to increase dramatically in price and we suspected that
availability might become an issue in the future.
2. The Reference 600
Potentiostat is an excellent potentiostat for those
users who need to make EIS measurements on paints and coatings.
The lowest current range of the Reference 600 is 60 pA, higher than the 30
pA of the Femtostat, but the Reference 600 is capable of measuring
impedances up to 1012 ohms...virtually identical to the limit
of the FAS2 Femtostat.
To all of our FAS2 Femtostat users, we say thank you and we regret that
the Femtostat will no longer be available. We intend to provide
service for the Femtostat for several years, so there's no need to worry
about replacing it in the near future.
|
