Inserting and Removing the Holders

Holder insertion:

  1. Make certain that the goniometer is in the neutral position: x/y/z, x-tilt & y-tilt are all zero;  This can be accomplished by double-clicking on the “Stage Neutral” area of TEMcon (lower right corner of the main window)

  2. Change the entry in the text box above the stage position values in TEMcon to reflect the holder that you are about to put into the microscope.  There are six possible choices and if you are uncertain which to choose, check with the director.

  3. The switch beneath the specimen airlock should be toggled to “AIR” before putting a holder into the microscope

  4. Align the pin on the rod of the holder with the slit at “9 o’clock” in the opening of the specimen air lock

  5. Gently push the holder as far into the airlock as it will go and toggle the switch to “PUMP”

  6. The yellow light above the switch should come on and you should hear valves open and close, and a pump will start after a short while

  7. After several minutes, the second (green) light will also come on

  8. For a sample that may significantly outgas, wait 5-10 minutes after the green light turns on before proceeding to the next steps

  9. Rotate the holder ~10° clockwise and let the vacuum pull the holder a short way (~1 cm) into the column;  the yellow light will turn off after this 10° rotation.

  10. Rotate the holder a further ~80° clockwise and again let the vacuum pull the holder the rest of the way into the column;  a very light tap on the end of the holder can be used to make certain that it is seated properly

  11. While following steps 9 & 10, watch the vacuum gauge on the large electronics cabinet behind the JEOL PC monitors;  it will probably deflect fully to the right but should IMMEDIATELY begin to recover;  if recovery does NOT begin immediately, ask for help

  12. Once the holder is fully inserted into the column, the yellow light will remain off and the green light will remain lit

NOTE:  Until the holder is fully inserted into the column, the “Beam Valve” region of TEMcon will remain grey and the beam valve cannot be opened; this is a lock-out feature of the microscope to prevent X-rays from leaking through the specimen airlock.
NOTE2: Remember not to force the holder in any way – there should be very minimal resistance during all these steps, and there is absolutely no need to push the holder into the column.

Holder removal:

  1. Return the goniometer to the neutral position as described in step 1 above

  2. While the holder is in the column, the switch below the airlock should be in the “PUMP” position;  toggle the switch to “AIR” before doing anything else

  3. Slowly pull the  holder straight out of the column;  it will pull out about 6 cm and then stop;  if you release the holder at this point, the vacuum will pull it back into the column

  4. Rotate the holder ~80° counter-clockwise

  5. Pull out a further 1 cm and rotate the holder an additional ~10° counter-clockwise

  6. Release the holder and wait for the vacuum reading in the GUI on the PC to read >230 µA (this should take < 1 min)

  7. At this point, pull the holder completely out of the column

Do not leave the airlock empty for significant amounts of time.  If you are going to delay more than 15 minutes before re-inserting the holder (or a different holder), please put one of the other holders into the microscope.