LVEM5 Accessories

The LVEM 5 electron microscope can be used in combination with the optional AFM tip holder to image most AFM tips. This is a rapid technique for obtaining detailed information on the quality and design of your AFM tips. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) relies on a cantilever with a sharp tip (probe) that is used to scan the surface of a sample. AFM tips generally have a radius of curvature of around a few nanometers.

When the tip approaches the sample surface, forces between the tip and the sample lead to a deflection of the cantilever. Forces that can be measured include; mechanical contact force, van der Waals forces, capillary forces, chemical bonding, electrostatic forces, and magnetic forces, among others. The nature of the AFM probe determines the forces that will be measured, as well as the microscopes final sensitivity.

Tip shape and sharpness can easily be measured in both TEM and SEM modes. This versatility, paired with rapid sample exchange, is a strong advantage for quality assurance inspection associated with the production of AFM probes.

Custom AFM tips, such as chemically and biologically coated AFM tips, or AFM tips with particle attachments, such as nanoparticles or ligands, can be effortlessly imaged. Additionally, the low voltage imaging provided by the LVEM 5 allows for significantly higher contrast of any soft materials (polymers, biologic materials) used to functionalize AFM tips.

Key Specifications

• Maximum substrate size 4.0mm x 2.0mm x 0.45mm
• Compatible with TEM and SEM

The LVEM 5 transmission electron microscope mode can be used in combination with the optional tilt holder to perform Electron Tomography. This is a technique for obtaining detailed 3D structures from 2D images. In the process, a beam of electrons is passed through the sample at incremental degrees of rotation around the center of the target sample. This information is collected and used to assemble a three dimensional image of the target.

Additionally, the LVEM 5 scanning electron microscope mode can be used in combination with the optional tilt holder to perform photogrammetry. This technique involves extraction of 3D geometry information from 2D images taken from a sample held at different angles relative to the BSE detectors.

The Tilt Holder for the LVEM 5 allows analysis of various different sample types from different points of view, thus enabling reconstruction of a 3D image of the sample.

Key Specifications

• ±20º of tilt
• Compatible with TEM, SEM and STEM modes

TEM grid pre-treatment device

Norcada’s UltiFlow is an efficient pre-treatment solution for TEM grids, preparing up to twelve grids at once by activating and hydrophilizing their surfaces. This improves sample adhesion, reducing the sample amount needed and minimizing the risk of sample separation or droplet formation.

Notable benefits of the UltiFlow include:

• Simple 3-step operation: load your sample, input process time & power, and press start for results within minutes
• Less expensive and easier to maintain than plasma or glow discharge systems
• No plasma, chemicals, process gases, pump down, or vacuum required
• Portable, small, and lightweight (4 lbs, 9" x 6" x 3")

The specialy designed BM-8 bench top platform offers 10-100 times better performance than a full size air table in a package only 4.6 inches tall, and without air or electricity!

This vibration isolation platform is extremely easy to use and offers extreme performance. It offers a 1.5 Hz or lower horizontal natural frequency and our signature 0.5 Hz vertical natural frequency. There are only two adjustments.

This is the thinnest, most portable, and most user-friendly isolator ever offered that is capable of delivering this level of performance. They can also be made cleanroom and vacuum compatible.