CRYO-SEM & CRYO-FIB/SEM PREPARATION EDITION III zzzPP3010 Cryo-SEM/Cryo-FIB/SEM Preparation System (continued)


required. The pumping system is connected to the preparation chamber by flexible stainless- steel bellows, which allows flexible positioning of the pumping system.


A 5 m3 Mayonnaise Image courtesy of FEI Company.


/hr rotary vacuum pump is required to "back" the turbomolecular pump and for slushing and rough pumping operations. The rotary pump can be located up to five meters from the system, allowing remote location if required. Dry pumping alternatives are available – see Ordering Information.


Prepdek® Workstation The Prepdek® workstation has been designed to


allow specimen mounting, freezing (plus pre- frozen specimen manipulation) and transfer device storage on one ergonomically designed work surface. The control electronics are mounted in a sealed but accessible cabinet beneath the Prepdek®


.


Set into the work surface is a pumped storage tube which allows the cryo transfer device to be stored under vacuum conditions when not in use.


Face Cream


Anti-aging face cream. Specimen rapidly frozen in slushy nitrogen, fractured at -140°C and sputter coated with 5nm of platinum


Panel PC Touch Screen User Interface The PP3010 is controlled using a large touch screen panel PC, mounted on the Prepdek® workstation. User-defined 'recipes' can be entered and stored for instant future access. The screen can be set to suit operator preferences; for example, vacuum measurement can be displayed in millibar, Pascal or Torr.


Many of the key steps in the specimen preparation process are automated (system set up, gas flow control, sublimation and sputter coating).


SEM Cold Stage, Cold Trap and Cooling System A highly stable, thermally isolated, nitrogen gas- cooled stage attaches to the SEM stage. The SEM stage and cold trap are cooled by separate cold gas circuits – both capable of reaching temperatures of -190°C or lower. This configuration allows the operator to select stage and cold trap temperatures that are optimized for specific specimens. For example, for some non- biological materials, it is useful to hold the specimen at very low temperatures – for example, a cold stage temperature of -175°C. This is possible with the PP3010, as cold trap temperatures of -190°C or lower can be selected, but not possible with conduction cooled systems. The SEM cold stage has a temperature range of down to -190°C and a temperature stability of < 0.5°C.


Dendritic Ice Crystals


If it is cooled slowly, water forms dendritic ice crystals. These can have a variety of branching patterns — the complexity of which depends upon cooling rate. Arms extend from the main body of the crystal at an angle of 60°. Some, such as the one illustrated, resemble the arms of a snowflake. Bar: 2um


Compatibility with SEM Stage Bias Mode The PP3010 cold stage is compatible with SEM stage bias/beam deceleration modes of up to 5kV.


CHE3010 Off-Column Cooling The CHE3010 is a fully integrated, remotely mounted cooling system which comes as standard with every PP3010. The CHE3010 is used to cool the SEM stage, SEM cold trap and


When not in use, the cryo transfer device can be stored under vacuum in the pumped storage tube, located on the Prepdek®


work surface


Typical screen view during operation (with camera image minimized)


Gas-cooled SEM cold trap (temperatures down to -190°C). Tailor-made to suit each SEM


cryo preparation chamber cold stage and cold traps and will typically reach temperatures down to -90°C or lower.


The CHE3010 is remotely positioned (typically on the floor behind the microscope) and at normal operating temperatures can run for up to 24 hours between fills. This greatly simplifies the cryo process (no more checking on dewar status and topping off), but also allows overnight, unattended operation – particularly useful for some automated FIB/SEM "slice and view" protocols.


Single Port Interface to the SEM or FIB/SEM Where SEM geometry allows, both the cryo preparation chamber and the SEM cooling system can be fitted to a single chamber port (the minimum port diameter is 38 mm). This gives a tidy installation and frees up a valuable chamber port.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16