Patent · US Expired

Cooled CCD camera for an electron microscope

US5065029A · kind A · utility

37Cited by
1References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateAug 3, 1990
Grant dateNov 12, 1991
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 3, 2010

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01J37/18
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus comprising a cooled slow-scan charge-coupled device camera mounted in a chamber attached to a projection or specimen chamber of an electron microscope, and a vacuum valve separating the camera chamber from the microscope chamber. The operation of the vacuum valve is linked to the microscope vacuum system such that the valve remains open while the microscope chamber is under vacuum, but closes if the microscope chamber is about to be let up to atmospheric pressure, and stays closed until the microscope chamber is evacuated again. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the camera is inserted by a pneumatically operated piston to the microscope chamber, and is withdrawn and sealed off in a separate vacuum chamber in the microscope chamber is about to be let up to air.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.