Tempfix™ Mounting Adhesive for SEM Samples
Instructions for Use
Warm up the aluminum mount on the hot plate to approximately 120° C.
Apply a small amount of Tempfix and smooth it over the top of the SEM mount
with a spatula. We would recommend a PTFE
coated spatula because of its well known non-stick characteristics.
Remove any excess Tempfix. Once the resin is "drawn down" on the surface of
the SEM mount, so long as the mount is
protected from falling dust, the
mounts can be stored in this state indefinitely.
For the SEM examination of dry or relatively dry powder specimens, sprinkle
the powder onto one of the Tempfix-coated aluminum SEM mounts. Warm up the
mount and Tempfix film for about ten to fifteen seconds to roughly 40° C,
using the hot plate. Then remove the mount and cool it on a metal block.
For samples especially prone to heat damage, even at 40° C, a variation
of the technique is to perform the mounting process, instead of directly on
an aluminum SEM mount, using an aluminum sheet of thickness 0.5 to 1.0 mm.
Use of such a sheet permits a more rapid cooling of the heated sample,
minimizing any possibility for heat induced damage to the specimen. Once
this is done, a small piece can be cut out and glued down to a conventional
SEM mount, using nothing more exotic that our
5-minute epoxy.
Another possibility is the use of "heavy" gage aluminum foil but some might
find it less convenient to use in this way.
Any specimen prepared by any of these methods can be placed in a
sputter coater and
metallized using gold, palladium, silver, platinum or an alloy of gold and
palladium (60% gold/40% palladium). Of course, we would recommend using
gold in most instances because, having the lowest work function of the
different alternatives, it will sputter faster than any other metal or
alloy. This minimizes the amount of time a possible delicate sample is
exposed to the radiant heat from the plasma of the sputter coater. Or if
you are seeking maximum resolution using a FESEM, it can be coated with
amorphous osmium metal in one of the
OPC family of osmium plasma coaters.
Or alternatively, if the sample is destined for EDS analysis, it can be
placed in a carbon coater
and coated for x-ray analysis (EDS).
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Wednesday July 09, 2008
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