SPC150

Hydrocarbon Contaminants Cleaning of Ultra-Thin Carbon Films

For well-dispersed nanomaterials, utilizing ultra-thin carbon films as support membranes in aberration-corrected TEM yields better imaging results. However, cleaning the hydrocarbon contamination from ultra-thin carbon films presents a challenge in the sample preparation process. The SPC150 is a high vacuum plasma cleaner equipped with three gas paths controlled by mass flow controllers (MFCs). With a grid placed between the ion source and the sample chamber, it offers a gentler cleaning effect, making it particularly suitable for removing hydrocarbon contamination from ultra-thin carbon films.

Key Features

• In-situ TEM holders vacuum leak testing
• Remote RF ion source: Gentle plasma cleaning
• Plasma cleaning with segmented processing zones: Strong treatment zone / Weak treatment zone
• Three workstations, compatible with various TEM holders
• Precise control of 3 MFCs for flow rates, compatible with Ar, O2, H2, etc., offering process flexibility
• Oil-free high-vacuum system, achieving vacuum levels less than 5*10-5 Pa

Applications

Plasma Treatment of TEM Samples

Using the plasma generated by air to clean TEM samples that are susceptible to oxidation will undoubtedly cause sample modification. The SPC150 can ionize the introduced H2 and utilize the hydrogen reactive radicals and plasma to chemically react with hydrocarbon contaminants on the sample surface, ultimately achieving the goal of cleaning hydrocarbon contaminants on the sample surface.

Hydrogen plasma treatment is not only suitable for cleaning contaminants on TEM samples that are susceptible to oxidation but also capable of achieving surface hydrogen doping modification of materials.

SPC can also achieve in-situ plasma treatment of TEM holders or cells, as well as in-situ vacuum leak detection of TEM holders.

Specialized Silicon Contamination Cleaning

There is often a common silicon contamination in TEM samples that may come from various stages of sample synthesis, preparation, storage, and transfer, which could interfere with TEM imaging, detection, and analysis. Conventional plasma cleaning cannot easily remove it.

Our partner* has proposed a new method that uses SF6 and O2 as a good-mixed process gas to effectively remove surface silicon contamination and hydrocarbon contamination in TEM samples. This technique is essential for STEM with aberration correction.

The SPC150 has 3 gas paths, with MFC able to accurately control gas flow and RF remote plasma design providing strong and weak partition treatment functions. This can make the plasma gentler while ensuring that the carbon film is not damaged, thus achieving a dual cleaning effect for silicon and hydrocarbon contamination.