Anticontaminator for transmission electron microscopes
US4833330A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 3, 1987 |
| Grant date | May 23, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 3, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J37/02
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improved electron microscope anticontaminator having a conduction rod enclosed within an independent vacuum system and micropositioning capability is described. The micropositioning facility allows the use of unusually small apertures in the cold anticontaminator block with a consequent improvement in efficiency of function. A self-contained contact sensor provides immediate audible warning of contact between a specimen holder and the cold anticontaminator block, permitting the removal of the usual mechanical end-stops for the specimen tilt mechanism and allowing the maximum specimen movement possible at any time. The independent vacuum system in combination with a heater positioned close to the anitcontaminator block allows the microscopist to vent the microscope column without removing the anticontaminator from the microscope. Special anticontaminator blocks incorporating multiple apertures or an X-ray collimator eliminate the need for separate microscope objective aperture or X-ray collimator mechanisms and also ease design constraints imposed by the very limited space around specimens in high resolution microscopes.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.