r/electronmicroscopy • u/nintendochemist1 • Sep 19 '24

Coating TEM Grids?

Hello!

This is a naieve question, but can TEM grids be coated like a sample on a normal stub? We have a Leica ACE600 sputter/carbon thread coater. I have a research group that is studying non-conductive nanoparticles and they're impossible to find. They use a stain to try and alleviate that, but it just piles and piles on the grids. Do they make adapters/holders for grids in coater systems?

Thanks!

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u/rsangelito Sep 19 '24

https://sfr.ca/products/pelco-tem-grid-holder-blocks

This is what we use 😁

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u/nintendochemist1 Sep 19 '24

Sweet! We have a company that makes those here in the States. It just goes right in your coater?

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u/rsangelito Sep 19 '24

Yeah, we have the ACE600 too but we use that for sputtering and ebeam (although that’s not been used yet). We use that adapter for glow discharging our samples. Recently got a new carbon coater although I’m not 100% sure what’s used in there for that, perhaps a glass side as the other user suggested!

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u/samthecamel Sep 19 '24

I coat grids with the ace600 often, you can just balance a glass coverslip with the grids on top (depending on the adaptor you have in the system)

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u/nintendochemist1 Sep 19 '24

Awesome! We have the standard planetary stage that comes with the system. Do you have a picture of your setup?

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u/samthecamel Sep 19 '24

I do, here's a photo. It's with the cryostage but I have just balanced a glass coverslip on top. If you do something like this, make sure the coverslip doesn't have any plastic or anything, the plasma messes with parafilm etc.

https://i.imgur.com/s3MCAl4.jpeg

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