A 90-Degree-Tilt Rotary Adapter for SEM

Extract

Many SEM stages prevent effective examination of specimens at extremely high tilt angles. Stage tilt may not be allowed at or near 90 degrees, and the design of the stage may cause the loss of X or Y stage motion at high tilts. We designed an adapter for our microscope that solves both problems by shifting the normal stage rotation motion 90 degrees (Figure 1). Specimen stubs are mounted horizontally in the adapter, and all components of the holder except the base plate are tethered to a stationary portion of the stage. Operation of the stage rotation control then rotates the stub around its horizontal axis (similar to a rotisserie). Specimens can be rotated through 360 degrees along this axis, with a full range of X and Y stage movement. A limited amount of stage tilt is also possible, allowing precise positioning of the specimen.