Handbook of Sample Preparation for Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis

Patrick Echlin (auth.)0387857303, 978-0-387-85730-5, 978-0-387-85731-2

This Handbook is a complete guide to preparing a wide variety of specimens for the scanning electron microscope and x-ray microanalyzers. Specimens range from inorganic, organic, biological, and geological samples to materials such as metals, polymers, and semiconductors which can exist as solids, liquids and gases. While the Handbook complements the best-selling textbook, Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis, Third Edition, by Goldstein, et al., it is entirely self-contained and describes what is needed up to the point the sample is put into the instrument. Photomicrographs of each specimen complement the many sample preparation “recipes.” Additional chapters describe the general features of specimen preparation in relation to the different needs of scanning electron microscopes and x-ray microanalyzers, and an appendix covers chemicals and equipment applicable to any of the recipes. This practical Handbook is an essential reference for anyone who uses these instruments. It assumes only an elementary knowledge of preparation techniques but also serves as an authoritative guide for more experienced microscopists.

Table of contents :
Front Matter….Pages i-xi
Introduction….Pages 1-9
Sample Collection and Selection….Pages 11-18
Sample Preparation Tools….Pages 19-29
Sample Support….Pages 31-45
Sample Embedding 
and Mounting….Pages 47-63
Sample Exposure….Pages 65-95
Sample Dehydration….Pages 97-136
Sample Stabilization for Imaging in the SEM….Pages 137-183
Sample Stabilization to Preserve Chemical Identity….Pages 185-233
Sample Cleaning….Pages 235-245
Sample Surface Charge Elimination….Pages 247-298
Sample Artifacts and Damage….Pages 299-306
Additional Sources of Information….Pages 307-315
Back Matter….Pages 317-330