Substratek coated grids, 300 mesh

Substratek TEM Substrates are ultrathin metallic support films on standard 3mm TEM grids. These metallic films are specially manufactured with a patented process (US Patent #7348570 B2, March 25, 2008) as experimental platforms and are electron transparent to allow for imaging using a TEM. The ultrathin Substratek TEM Substrates enable electrochemical processing, crystal growth, and nano- and micro-fabrication directly on the substrates. They allow for subsequent TEM examination without the need for extensive sample preparation. Direct nanoscale imaging without extensive TEM preparation does not require expensive thinning tools, it saves time and it avoids introduction of preparation artifacts. Compared to the widely used carbon support films, ultrathin and electron transparent metallic films have a high surface energy and therefore more suitable for fabrication processes.

Important properties of the ultrathin Substratek Metallic Support Films are:

• Electron transparent with a 2-3nm thickness
• Small feature sizes do not obscure sample features
• Chemically stable (can be used for electroplating)
• Robust enough to act as substrates
• High surface energy.

They are ideally suited for use as integrated research platforms for applications as diverse as:

• Nanofabrication
• Electron-beam lithography
• Micro-contact printing
• Electrochemistry or electroplating
• Nano-crystal growth
• Carbon nano tubes
• X-ray analysis of carbon containing materials
• Surface and interface science

The Substratek TEM Substrates are metallic ultrathin films on a standard 3mm TEM grid. Available substrate are Au, Pt, Pd (2-3nm thickness) and TiOx (10-20nm thickness) on 300 and 400mesh TEM grids. The Au, Pt and Pd substrates are deposited on gold TEM grids compatible with electrochemical processes. The TiOx substrate is deposited on copper TEM grids; These materials have proven to be stable substrates with a small feature size in the support film. The TiOx substrate is more bio-compatible and can also be used for life-science applications. They are supplied in a PELCO 160 TEM grid box in quantities of 25 per box.

Available:

G300: Pitch 83µm; Hole Width 58µm; Bar Width 25µm; Transmission 49%

References:

1. Daniel B Allred, Melvin T. Zin, Hong MA, Mehmet Sarikaya, Francois Baneyx, Alex K.Y. Jen, Daniel T. Schwartz, "Direct nanofabrication and transmission electron microscopy on a suite of easy-to-prepare ultrathin film substrates", Thin Solid Films, 515(13): 5341 - 5347, 2007
2. Daniel B. Allred, Anchi Cheng, Mehmet Sarikaya, Francois Baneyx, Daniel T. Schwartz, "Three-dimensional architecture of inorganic nanoarrays electrodeposited though a surface-layer protein mask", Nano Letters, 8 (5): 1434 - 1438, 2008
3. Yusuke Ominami, Quoc Ngo, Makoto Suzuki, Alexander J. Austin, Carry Y. Yang, Alan M. Cassell, Jun Li, "Interface characteristics of vertically aligned carbon nanofibers for interconnect applications", Applied Physics Letters, 89 : 263114 (1-3), 2006

Guide to TEM Grids, Handling and Preparation