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Mica and Single Crystal Substrates
Silicon Chip Specimen Supports

Mica Substrates for AFM, TEM and SEM

mica disks for sem
Mica Disks
Highest Grade V1		 Highest Grade Mica Sheets
Highest Grade
Mica Sheets V1		 Hi-Grade Mica Grade V2
Hi-Grade Mica
Grade V2
mica sheets
Mica Sheets V5		 silicon chip supports for sem
Silicon Chip
Supports		 Silicon Wafer
Silicon Wafers
Silicon Nitride Disks for SEM, FESEM, AFM
Silicon Nitride
Disks		 Single Crystal Substrates
Single Crystal
Substrates		 PELCO Quartz Substrate Discs
PELCO Quartz
Substrate Discs

Freshly cleaved muscovite mica surfaces have an outstanding even surface, are optically flat, clear, transparent, scratchless and free from fingerprints. They are very useful in electron microscopy for production of carbon support films, particle imaging, cell growing and thin film coating research. Muscovite mica surface are also suitable as substrates for high resolution atomic force microcopy studies such as DNA, DNA-protein and thin films.

Cleaving mica involves insertion of a sharp edge or point into an edge or corner of the sheet and gently prying apart the leaves. A good sharp razor blade edge will do the job and in some cases a sharp pointed tweezer may accomplish this.. The freshly exposed micro surface should be used immediately after cleaving to take advantage of the clean and even surface. The muscovite mica is die cut to the sizes offered. The thickness of the mica sheets varies between 0.18 - 0.25mm (0.007 - 0.01") which yields much thinner, uniform sheets.
Cleaving can also be achieved by placing a double coated piece of tape onto the mica surface and gently pulling off the mica layer starting on one edge of the mica. Then place mica with tape side down on to a specimen disc or mount.

Ruby muscovite color ranges from almost white through pink to a light ruby and into shades of brownish ruby and brown. It is considered of higher quality (compared to green muscovite) because of hardness and excellent cleavage properties permitting it to be split into the thinnest desired film without the risk of cracking. It is optically flat, resilient and incompressible. While it splits into thin films along its cleavage planes, yet it remains tough and elastic, even at high temperatures.

Chemically, mica is a complex hydrous silicate of aluminum, containing potassium, magnesium, iron, sodium fluoride and/or lithium and traces of other elements. It is stable and inert to water, acids (except hydrofluoric and concentrated sulfuric acids), alkalis, conventional solvents and oil.
Our mica has minimum inclusions, minimum air and bubbles and is clean. ASTM D-351 describes grading standards for mica. See this link for Properties and chemical composition of Mica Grade V1

Early references to this technique include Professors Dan Pease, C.E. Hall and Robert Bils
Bils R.F., Hall C.E., 1962. Biology, 17, 123-130
Pease D.C., 1964. Histological techniques for electron microscopy, 2nd ed, pp 208-209, (Academic Press)
Hall C.E., 1966. Introduction to electron microscopy, 2nd ed, (McGraw Hill)
Mica Grades
Mica grades from V-1 to V-5 with V-1 being the highest quality.
V-1 Clear, hard, of uniform color, nearly flat, free from stains, foreign inclusions, cracks and other similar defects.
V-2 Clear and slightly stained. May contain slight crystallographic discoloration and very slight air inclusions in one fourth of the useable area.
V-3 Fair stained. Hard, of uniform color, may contain slight waves, slight crystallographic discoloration, and medium air inclusions in not more than one half of the useable area.
V-4 Good stained. Hard, of uniform color, may contain medium waves. Slight crystallographic discoloration and medium air inclusions in not more than two thirds of the useable area.
V-5 Stained A quality. Hard, may contain medium air inclusions, uniformly distributed in the useable area, slight green vegetable stains and medium waviness.

mica disks for scanning electron microscopy

Highest Grade Mica Disks

Highest quality grade V1 mica, 0.21mm (.0085”) thick. Interleaved, in packages of 10.
Available in three diameters:
10mm (0.39")
12mm (0.47)
15mm (0.59)

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
50
Highest Grade V1 Mica Discs, 10mm
pkg/10
$9.98
Qty:
50-12Highest Grade V1 Mica Discs, 12mmpkg/1013.75
Qty:
50-15Highest Grade V1 Mica Discs, 15mmpkg/1015.85
Qty:

highest grade mica sheets grade v1

Highest Grade Mica Sheets

slide size
Highest quality Grade V1
Size 25 x 76mm (1 x 3")
.15 to .177mm (.006-.007") thick
Sheets interleaved - Package of ten

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
56
Highest Grade V1 Mica, 25 x 76mm (1 x 3")
pkg/10
$29.60
Qty:

hi-grade mica grade v2

Hi-Grade Mica

Grade V2
25 x 25mm (1 x 1")
0.23 to 0.3mm (.009 - .012") thick
Interleaved

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
52-6
Hi-Grade Mica, Grade V2, 25 x 25mm
pkg/20
$20.60
Qty:

mica sheets grade v5

PELCO® Mica Sheets

Three sizes available, presenting many fresh, clean surfaces for such EM applications as carbon filming and particle spraying. Thickness, .23mm (.009").
See Quality Classification of Muscovite Mica Based on Visual Properties

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
52
PELCO® Mica Sheets, Grade V5, 50 x 76mm (2 x 3"),
pkg/10
$6.70
Qty:
53PELCO® Mica Sheets, Grade V5, 25 x 76mm (1 x 3"),pkg/208.50
Qty:
54PELCO® Mica Sheets, Grade V5, 10 x 40mm (.39 x 1.57")pkg/10020.40
Qty:

silicon chip supports for scanning electron microscopy

Silicon Chip Specimen Supports

low background specimen supports for SEM viewing
Si-chips are opaque, of low electrical resistance and have surface properties equal to glass (including smoothness). They are chemically inert and make good substrates for growing or mounting cells. Si-chips are precleaned before packaging. Also ideal for imaging small particles due to low background signal.

Availability: 4" wafer is precut into 5x7mmm, 5x5mm or 10x10mm chips that can be easily separated in the laboratory.

4" wafer precut into 5x7mm chips approximately 187 chips/wafer.
4" wafer precut into 5x5mm chips approximately 270 chips/wafer.
4" wafer precut into 10x10mm chips approximately 55 chips/wafer.

Properties:
Orientation (111)
Resistance 1-30 Ohms
Type P (Boron) (1 primary flat)
No SiO2 top coating
Wafer thickness is 18-21 mil (460-530µm)
Wafer is polished on one side
Before dicing they are rinsed in de-ionized water for cleaning

courtesy K.R. Peters
Peters, K.R., 1985. Working at higher magnifications in scanning electron microscopy with secondary and backscattered electrons on metal coated biological specimens and imaging macromolecular cell membrane structures. Scanning Electron Microscopy, IV:159.
Apkarian, R.P., High-resolution signal detection of specimen-specific secondary electrons in an analytical SEM, "Proc.. 44th Ann. Meeting of the EMSA", 1986, G.W. Bailey, Ed., San Francisco Press, 658.

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
16007
4" (10cm) dia., 5x7mm diced Silicon Wafer, 187 chips/wafer,
each
$61.00
Qty:
160084" (10cm) dia., 5x5mm diced Silicon Wafer, 270 chips/wafereach61.00
Qty:
160064" (10cm) dia., 10x10mm diced Silicon Wafer, 55 chips/wafereach61.00
Qty:


Silicon Wafer

2", 3" and 4" Silicon Wafers

These 2", 3" and 4" silicon wafers can be used either as a substrate for thin film research or to make small silicon substrates by dicing the wafer into smaller pieces using a scriber. The wafer is shipped in a wafer carrier.

Wafer Mounting Film

Properties:
Orientation (111)
Resistance 1-30 Ohms
Type P (Boron) (1 primary flat)
No SiO2 top coating
Wafer thickness is 18-21 mil (460-530µm)
Wafer is polished on one side

Prod #DescriptionUnitQtyPriceOrder / Quote
16012
2" Silicon Wafer, Type P
each
1-9
$24.75
Qty:
10+
22.50
160133" Silicon Wafer, Type Peach1-926.30
Qty:
10+23.90
160104" Silicon Wafer, Type Peach1-933.40
Qty:
10+29.80
Silicon Nitride Disks for SEM, FESEM, AFM
Silicon Nitride Blank

Silicon Nitride Coated 3mm Discs (blanks)

These 3mm silicon discs have an ultra flat (RA of 0.45 ±0.02nm) 50nm ultra low stress silicon nitride layer (Si3N4) on both sides and can be used for a number of applications:

  • Specimen mounts for SEM and FESEM applications
  • Specimen discs for AFM applications which need a Si3N4 background
  • Blanks to build the PELCO® Liquid Cell™ together with the PELCO® Silicon Nitride Membrane

more information on silicon nitride support films


Product Specifications
  • Film thickness: 50nm ultra low stress Si3N4 on both sides
  • Disc thickness: 200µm silicon support
  • Disc diameter: 3mm
  • Surface roughness: The RMS (Rq) is 0.65 +/- 0.06nm which gives a mean roughness (Ra) of 0.45 +/- 0.02nm
  • Packaging: The PELCO® Silicon Aperture Frames are packaged under cleanroom conditions in the PELCO® 160 TEM Grid Storage Box. Each box holds 10 discs.

MSDS (PDF - 367KB)

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
21555-10
PELCO® Silicon Nitride 3mm Disks
pkg/10
$115.00
Qty:


Single Crystal Substrates

Single Crystal Substrates (NaCl, KBr and KCl)

High purity, optical grade single crystals of sodium chloride (NaCl) MSDS, potassium bromide (KBr) and potassium chloride (KCl) form excellent substrates to grow epitaxial films. The orientation of the vacuum coated thin films is directly related to the orientation of the single crystal substrate thereby creating single crystal films. Ideal for thin film research, education and studies of properties of single crystal films.
All three materials are supplied with (100) orientation with a crystal size of 10 x 10 x 10mm in packs of 5. For most applications it is advisable to use freshly cleaved substrates. The cleaved surfaces produce atomically flat areas; however, cleavage steps over different atomic planes should be expected.

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
46-2
NaCl Crystals, 10 x 10 x 10mm
pkg/5
$32.90
Qty:
46-6KBr Crystals, 10 x 10 x 10mmpkg/538.50
Qty:
46-8KCl Crystals, 10 x 10 x 10mmpkg/534.00
Qty:


PELCO Quartz Substrate Discs

PELCO® Quartz Substrate Discs

The PELCO® quartz discs or wafers are made from high quality fused quartz (Technical data on GE 124 Quartz) ground and optical-grade polished on both sides. The discs are ideal as substrates for thin film research and are also suitable for optical research. These quartz wafers have excellent chemical resistance against a wide variety of solvents. They have also excellent heat resistance with high dimensional stability over a wide temperature range. Available in sizes from 1" to 4" with thickness of 1/16" and 1/8".

Wafer Carriers
Quartz Micro Slides
Vacuum Evaporation Supplies

Prod #DescriptionUnitPriceOrder / Quote
16001-1
Quartz Disc, 1" x 1/16", polished
each
$6.20
Qty:
16001-2Quartz Disc, 1" x 1/8", polishedeach7.80
Qty:
16002-1Quartz Disc, 2" x 1/16", polishedeach11.80
Qty:
16002-2Quartz Disc, 2" x 1/8", polishedeach14.80
Qty:
16002-51Quartz Disc, 2.5" x 1/16", polishedeach16.80
Qty:
16002-52Quartz Disc, 2.5" x 1/8", polishedeach18.80
Qty:
16003-1Quartz Disc, 3" x 1/16", polishedeach19.90
Qty:
16003-2Quartz Disc, 3" x 1/8", polishedeach24.60
Qty:
16004-1Quartz Disc, 4" x 1/16", polishedeach58.50
Qty:
16004-2Quartz Disc, 4" x 1/8", polishedeach65.80
Qty:



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Page Last Updated: March 12, 2010