EM Tec Formvar Carbon TEM Transmission Electron Microscope Support Films

Introduction

The FC - range Formvar Carbon support films are more robust than the formvar or carbon only films. The thin carbon film on top of the formvar stabilizes the support film when working with voltages above 120kV or for prolonged times. However, carbon is hydrophobic so when depositing particles the support films need to be threated to make the surface hydrophilic. Making support film hydrophilic can be done with a glow discharge device, a UV lamp or immersion in 70% alcohol for a second. For TEM-Tomography applications which could damage or deform the sample, we suggest to coat the sample with a few nm thin carbon layer.

The formvar carbon TEM support films also offer a good solution, where a carbon only film would be too fragile to withstand pre-treatments and/or additional processing. They also provide the option to remove the formvar from the Formvar Carbon film before use. The thickness of the formvar film is around 5-7nm, the thickness of the carbon film is around 7-10nm. The carbon film is on top of the formvar film.

The formvar carbon TEM support films are available on 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400 mesh and large slot copper, nickel and gold grids. See the matrix below for the currently available Formvar/Carbon TEM support films with packaging sizes of 25, 50 and 100/box<

Selection matrix for the Formvar/Carbon TEM support films