The Graphite Holder offers the same double-sided low-angle milling (ion polishing) as the aluminum DuoPosts™ while providing additional benefits.

PIPS Specimen Holders

Three unique PIPS^TM holders have been developed to service all TEM specimen
requirements:

Each holder allows double-sided milling down to angles less than 1 degree. Design of the DuoPostTM and Graphite holder imparts minimal beam exposure and coupled with Beam Modulation significantly extends holder life. Two custom fixtures (Loading Docks) are provided to simplify specimen loading onto these holders.

Advantages of Graphite

• Reduced contamination from the holder
• Lower sputtering rate of graphite compared to metals increases life expectancy
• Sputtered material is amorphous and conductive which ultimately reduces charging problems associated with insulating materials during TEM examination/analysis

Specimen Secured between Slides

• Two independent slides grip the specimen at its outer edge
• Specimen can also be secured using a low melting point wax
• Slide translation is -0.5mm on either side of center
• Slides permit alignment of a specific area on the specimen to the PIPS center of rotation

Configured Size

• Larger mass relative to DuoPost^TM provides more efficient heat dissipation

Loading Dock

• Simplifies specimen loading onto Graphite Holder
• Built-in LED transmission illuminator assists in optical examination of translucent samples (thin Si and ceramics)