EQUIPMENT & ACCESSORIES CATALOG EDITION IV CRYO-SEM & CRYO-FIB/SEM PREPARATION SYSTEMS
Turbomolecular Pumping – High Vacuum Performance
The preparation chamber is pumped by a remotely-positioned 70 L/s turbomolecular pumping system. Typical preparation chamber vacuums when cold are in the region of 10-7
mbar Mayonnaise Image courtesy of FEI Company.
or better. Positioning the turbomolecular pump away from the SEM ensures total elimination of mechanical vibration and has the advantage of significantly reducing the total cryo system mass connected to the SEM. A vacuum buffer tank (remotely located in the Prepdek®) is automatically pumped when 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
/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® Shaving Cream
Fractured at -140ºC, sublimated at -90ºC for 3 minutes and coated with 5nm of platinum.
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
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When not in use, the cryo transfer device can be stored under vacuum in the pumped storage tube, located on the Prepdek®
work surface
Remotely mounted turbomolecular pumping system
Typical screen view during operation (with camera image minimized)
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