I14 Control room:
Tel: +44 (0) 1235 778570
Principal Beamline Scientist:
Julia Parker
E-mail: julia.parker@diamond.ac.uk
Email: paul.quinn@diamond.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1235 778583
I14 sample holders are designed to take standard silicon nitride membranes in the following sizes
5 x 5 mm Frame with 3 mm window
Typical window thickness ranges from 200nm - 1um with the thicker windows being slightly more robust.
The beamline can supply standard membranes for testing on request.
A variety of silicon nitride membranes options are available from commercial suppliers with designs and options to suit different applications.
Please contact the beamline team to discuss any specific requirements before your experiment and sample preparation.
Silicon Nitride Membrane suppliers
Powder samples can be mounted on kapton MicroMounts or MicroLoops which can be purchased from MiTeGen.
The standard MicroLoops used at the beamline have aperature size of 50 μm and pin length of 25 mm (product code M5-L25-50).
I14 sample holders are designed to take 3mm TEM grids.
Both full and half (e.g. omniprobe) grids can be mounted.
The thickness of the grids varies and ring spacers are available at the beamline to aid mounting if required.
For XRF mapping consideration should be given to the grid material. While copper is the most common grid material, Nickel, gold or aluminium are also avaiable which may be more beneficial depending on how your sample is mounted on the grid and the elements of interest to you.
TEM grid suppliers:
www.agarscientific.com/tem/grids-agar.html
Samples for tomography can be prepared using dowel pins. Samples are glued on top of the stainless steel pin and cut down to desired size (< 20 μm) by FIB-SEM. Dowel pins can be purchased from Accu. The tomography holder can accomodate 1 mm in diameter and 8 mm in length pins.
Sample preparation is key to the success of a nanoprobe experiment. We suggest you discuss the sample preparation and mounting with your local contact before your experiment.
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