STAGE FEATURES


THERMAL BLOCK

•  The heart of all electrical probe systems, stages, chucks, and thermal plates is a thermal block or sample plate for heating and cooling

•  Built from aluminum, silver, or ceramic depending on the intended temperature range

•  Embedded with heating elements and liquid nitrogen cooling channels as well as temperature sensors to provide the most precise thermal control for the sample



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SAMPLING AREA

•  The sample area of the heating block is the effective area over which the set temperature is maintained

•  Typically flat to heat and cool samples from the bottom, but can be designed to accommodate samples of different dimensions

•  Sample surfaces can be made with/without a transmission aperture

•  Chuck surfaces can be made with vacuum grooves for securely fixing samples

•  Place samples directly on the surface, on or in the arm of the XY positioning mechanism, or in custom-built holders


SAMPLE POSITIONING

•  Position samples anywhere within the sampling area for fast in situ adjustments

•  Precisely align specific sample features in optical paths

•  Consists of a thin metal square or circular looped arm that extends over part of the sample area

•  Arm is controlled externally by Vernier dials with 10mm of travel in two dimensions

•  Greater flexibility, sample area accessibility, and precision control in moving the sample inside the chamber than in moving the stage on the microscope

•  XY positioning is optimal for use with a rotational stage on a polarizing microscope due to the directional nature of polarization


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FRAME & OUTER COVER

•  Solid lightweight aluminum construction for some models

•  Cover edge slides easily under beveled lip in the frame and cover is held securely in place with spring-loaded screws, for some models


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CHAMBER HEIGHT & INNER COVER

•  The chamber height is the distance between the top surface of the thermal block and the bottom surface of the outer cover, when inner cover is present 

•  This distance is minimized in design to allow for just enough height for intended samples (slides, slipcovers, wafer pieces, and any clamps or probes) and to decrease the minimum objective working distance

•  Some stages feature a removable inner cover with a separate built-in window, which signifigantly reduce vertical temeperature gradients



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SAMPLE LOADING

•  Some models feature convenient sample side loading and unloading without opening stage covers

•  Some models feature covers configurable to swing or pivot from any single corner for quick sample access


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MOUNTING

•  Various mounting adaptors are available for almost all microscope models and other instruments

•  Vertical mounting is possible for almost all Instec stages, for horizontal beam access to the samples 



GAS PURGING & VACUUM PORTS

•  Some models feature gas purging capability

•  Either port can be input or output for purging gas flow

•  Some models feature vacuum capability

•  Two ports allow one to be used for pumping and the other for a pressure gauge


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FRAME COOLING

•  For some models, integrated frame cooling is reccomended to dissipate heat and allow the frame to remain cool or warm to the touch



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LIQUID NITROGEN COOLING

•  Integrated liquid nitrogen cooling on some models allows precision thermal control down to -190C

•  Different LN2 pump options are available 

•  Different Dewar sizes are available 

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