Hey guys, theres a really hard question please help! 10 points!Why do specimans have to be coated in metals eg gold, before they can be scanned by an Electron Microscope? Please HELP!! 10 POINTZ
This is taken from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas instructions for the Scanning Electron Microscope Operation: Sample Preparation (p9 of the pdf file): The sample needs to be electrically connected to the sample holder to prevent the electron beam from “charging” the sample and distorting the imageThis is usually done through conductive tapeWe have double and single sided Copper sticky tape or little Carbon sticky pads If you have a conductive sample this simple attachment will work fine If you have an insulator substrate with a conductive film on the top, the top film must be electrically connected to the Aluminum sample holderThis can be done with the Copper sticky tape looped around the edge to the top surface of your sample If your sample is an insulator, then you will need to coat it with a conductive material – i.eAu/Pd or Carbon So samples that are insulators have to be coated with a conductive material so that the sample is electrically connected to the sample holder to prevent the electron beam from “charging” the sample and distorting the image.
