Apparatus for ultrashadowing of freeze etched electron microscopic specimens

Abstract

An electron beam evaporator for shadowing electron microscopic specimens with refractory metals is described. Details of the construction and the mode of operation of the shadowing gun and the power supplies are given. The apparatus is designed to keep the thermal load on the specimen, during shadowing, lower than other methods but at the same time to give higher resolution. The method is therefore especially suited for application in the freeze etching technique, using a tantalum-tungsten alloy as the shadowing material.