Membrane Window Grids
Membrane window grids use a thin, robust silicon-based film held in a rigid silicon chip frame rather than a metal mesh, providing an ultimate substrate for many TEM applications as well as other microscopy disciplines.
Manufacturer: SPI Supplies — USA
Overview
Membrane window grids use a thin, robust silicon-based film held in a rigid silicon chip frame rather than a metal mesh, providing an ultimate substrate for many TEM applications as well as other microscopy disciplines. SPI Supplies offers a complete line of membrane windows in a variety of support film materials, sizes, and thicknesses, including silicon nitride, silicon oxide/dioxide, and continuous silicon membranes. Wet cell kits combine two membrane chips into a sealed liquid cell for in-situ imaging of specimens in their native liquid environment. Frames with the membrane etched away are also available for users who want to apply their own custom film or observe the bare aperture.
Membrane Materials
Silicon nitride and silicon oxide/dioxide are the principal window materials, supported on a silicon chip frame, along with continuous silicon membrane windows for applications requiring a different mechanical or electron-transparency profile.
Wet Cell Kits
Wet cell kits pair two membrane windows with an adhesive seal to form a liquid cell for in-situ or environmental TEM, and are offered with membrane thicknesses of 20 nm, 30 nm, 50 nm, or 100 nm and a 0.5 mm viewing window; a sampler kit spanning these thicknesses is also available.
Applications
Membrane window grids are used for in-situ liquid- and gas-cell TEM, cryo-EM, X-ray and electron spectroscopy, and any application requiring an extremely thin, uniform, and mechanically robust electron-transparent window.
Specifications
| Specification | Membrane Window Grids |
|---|---|
| Membrane materials | Silicon nitride, silicon oxide/dioxide, continuous silicon |
| Frame material | Silicon chip |
| Wet cell membrane thickness | 20 nm, 30 nm, 50 nm, 100 nm |
| Wet cell window size | 0.5 mm |
| Membrane thickness (etched-frame examples) | 0 nm to 500 nm |
| Window size (etched-frame examples) | 100 µm to 200 µm |
| Frame thickness (etched-frame examples) | 0.10 mm to 1.0 mm |