Sample carrier plate storage rack for continuous slice transmission electron microscope imaging

Abstract

The invention discloses a sample carrier plate storage rack for continuous slice transmission electron microscope imaging, which is of a tower structure formed by stacking carrier plate base frame units for loading sample carrier plates, each carrier plate base frame unit is provided with a base part, the center of each base part is provided with a center hole, and each base part is provided with a through hole. A plurality of fins extend from the base part in a central symmetry manner along the radial outward direction of the central hole, and each fin is provided with a loading groove which is formed by connecting and enclosing the peripheral side surface of the central hole and the inner side surface of a side ridge extending in the radial direction of the fin, is provided with an open peripheral surface and is used for loading a sample carrier plate; and a plurality of stations for placing sample slices are arranged on the sample carrier plate. According to the technical scheme, the problems that under the condition of the same number of samples, the size of a sample storage frame is too large, and the number of samples loaded by an automatic sample loading device at a time is small are solved, the flux is improved, meanwhile, the space size of the sample carrier plate storage frame is reduced, and the automatic sample loading device further has the advantages of being flexible to operate and capable of saving cost and is suitable for application and popularization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention discloses a sample carrier storage rack for continuous section transmission electron microscope imaging. Background Art

[0002] In order to improve the throughput of the transmission electron microscope, an automatic loading device is added outside the transmission electron microscope barrel. The automatic loading device includes a robotic arm system, a sample chamber and a vacuum system. The robotic arm system clamps one sample at a time in the vacuum chamber for observation, reducing the steps of breaking the vacuum for loading, and greatly improving the imaging throughput of the transmission electron microscope. In the existing technical scheme, the robotic arm system integrates the loading / unloading system and the sample platform system. When loading, the robotic arm system clamps a sample in the sample chamber, and the robotic arm holding the sample end extends from the automatic loading device into the transmission electron microscope barrel to observe the sample. When unloading, the robotic arm retracts from the transmission electron microscope barrel and puts the sample back into the sample chamber. During operation, only one sample can be viewed at a time, and there is still room for improving the throughput.

[0003] In the prior art, CN206976282U discloses a scanning electron microscope sample stage suitable for semi-cylindrical samples, including a base, a baffle is vertically fixed on the upper surface of the base, and the bottom of the baffle is evenly distributed along the longitudinal direction. A horizontally extending slide is inserted in each of the horizontal through grooves, and a protrusion is vertically fixed at both ends of the slide. A spring is connected between the protrusion at one end of the slide and the baffle. The springs of several slides are located on the same side, and multiple samples can be placed at one time. The expansion and contraction between each slide is independent, with high efficiency and strong adaptability. Although the prior art can place multiple samples at one time, the sample stage is large in size and the number of samples cannot be flexibly adjusted according to actual conditions.

[0004] CN220894188U discloses a scanning electron microscope sample stage suitable for semi-cylindrical samples, comprising a bottom plate, a mounting assembly is provided on the top of the bottom plate; the mounting assembly comprises a support plate, the support plate is arranged on the bottom plate, a rotating motor is provided at the center of the top of the support plate, a rotating ring connected to the top of the support plate is provided, a fixed positioning ring is provided on the top of the support plate located inside the rotating ring, and the outer wall of the positioning ring abuts against the inner wall of the rotating ring and is connected to the rotation. This prior art drives the placement plate to move horizontally and rotate by means of a rotating motor and a driving motor. During later use, after placing multiple samples on the placement plate at one time, the samples at different positions on the placement plate can be smoothly moved to the observation position of the scanning electron microscope. However, the structure of the sample stage is complex, the cost is high, and there is also the defect of being large in size.

[0005] Based on the problems existing in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a sample carrier storage rack which can improve the throughput while reducing the spatial volume of the sample carrier storage rack, and has flexible operation and cost savings. Summary of the invention

[0006] Based on the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention first provides a sample carrier storage rack for transmission electron microscope imaging, wherein the storage rack is composed of carrier base units for loading sample carriers stacked into a tower structure, wherein the carrier base unit is provided with a base, a center hole is provided in the center of the base, and the base extends N winglets symmetrically from the center of the center hole in a radially outward direction, each winglet is provided with a loading slot for loading sample carriers which is connected and surrounded by an inner side surface of an inner periphery and inner sides of two radially extending side ridges, and an open outer periphery, and a work station for placing sample slices is provided on the sample carrier.

[0007] The N mentioned in the present invention is a positive integer. For example, the base has 2, 3, 5, 6 or 8 fins extending symmetrically from the central hole radially outward. A specific embodiment of the present invention has 4 fins.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the sample support is a rectangular structure. In a more preferred embodiment, the sample support is a rectangular structure, and the radial length of the sample support is longer than the radial extension length of the loading slot.

[0009] In another preferred embodiment, 1-50 sample strips are arranged on the sample support, and the sample strips can be a multi-station design arranged in a matrix, for example, 1×5, 2×5, 3×5, 4×5, 5×6, 5×8, etc. Those skilled in the art can adopt a suitable matrix design according to actual needs and technical parameters of the automatic sample loading device of the electron microscope. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the sample strip is a 2×5 multi-station design, two sample strips are attached to the sample support, each sample strip has 5 ultrathin section samples, and each sample position corresponds to a hole position of the sample support.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the sample carrier is provided with robot gripper grooves on both sides radially beyond the loading slot, and the radial length of the sample carrier is longer than the radial extension length of the loading slot for the convenience of the robot gripper. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the robot gripper groove is designed to be arc-shaped.

[0011] The carrier base unit described in the present invention is configured as a hollow structure, with four fins extending radially symmetrically from the center hole. In a preferred embodiment, the four fins extend radially cross-symmetrically from the center hole, that is, each fin has an angle of 90 degrees with the adjacent fin, and the four fins are evenly distributed on the circumference of the center hole.

[0012] In a more preferred embodiment, a first limiting boss of a rectangular structure is arranged at the top of the adjacent area between the outer edge of the center hole of the carrier base unit and the loading slot, and the first limiting boss can be selected from two corresponding areas adjacent to the outer edge of the center hole of each carrier base unit and the four loading slots. A second limiting boss of a circular ring structure is arranged along the top of the inner edge of the center hole of the carrier base unit, and the bottom of the inner edge of the center hole is arranged in a stepped shape. A limiting groove cooperating with the first limiting boss is arranged at the bottom of each loading slot extending radially along the center hole of the carrier base unit, and four limiting grooves distributed in a cross shape are arranged at the bottom of each carrier base unit along four fins. The first limiting boss cooperates with the limiting groove of the carrier base unit stacked thereon, and the second limiting boss cooperates with the bottom of the center hole of the carrier base unit stacked thereon to play a limiting role. Through the above-mentioned limiting, the carrier base units can be stacked up and down into a multi-layer tower structure, each layer has four loading slots, and each loading slot is used to place a sample carrier. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the tower structure has 13 layers, and each sample carrier is a 2×5 multi-station design. In this solution, the sample carrier storage rack can store 2×5×4×13=520 station belts.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, a spring is provided on the loading slot of the carrier base unit along the circumferential direction, the spring is fixed to the positions of the radially extending tops on both sides of the loading slot, and a ball-shaped positioning screw is provided on the radially extending inner side of the loading slot, the spring is used to make the sample carrier flush with the bottom surface of the loading slot, and the ball-shaped positioning screw is used to make the sample carrier flush with the side of the loading slot. In a specific embodiment, the spring is fixed to the positions of the radially extending tops on both sides of the loading slot by screws, and the ball-shaped positioning screw is threadedly engaged with the side of the loading slot of the carrier base unit, preferably located on one side.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, steps are provided on both sides of the bottom surface of the sample support, and the height of the steps makes the total height of the sample support greater than the thickness of the sample tape. The steps are used to protect the sample tape from being scratched by the loading slot during the process of loading the sample support.

[0015] Secondly, the present invention provides a device for automatic sample loading in a transmission electron microscope, the device comprising a mechanical arm system, a sample chamber and a vacuum system, and a storage rack containing the sample carrier.

[0016] Finally, the present invention provides a method for automatically loading samples using the sample carrier storage rack, the method comprising the following steps: 1. Insert the sample carrier with the sample tape placed on it into the loading slot of the carrier base unit in the specified order and direction.

[0017] 2. Place the sample carrier storage rack with the sample carrier on it at the designated position of the automatic sample loading device. The Z-axis robotic arm in the vacuum chamber of the automatic sample loading device moves downward to grip the robotic arm gripper groove on the top side of the sample carrier storage rack to move the entire sample carrier storage rack. The Z-axis robotic arm clamps the sample carrier storage rack and resets it.

[0018] 3. The telescopic and clamping movements of the X-axis robot arm in the vacuum chamber of the automatic sample loading device are orderly combined with the lifting and rotating movements of the Z-axis robot arm to realize the loading and unloading of the transmission electron microscope.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The technical solution of the present invention adopts a tower cross-symmetrical structure design, which greatly reduces the space volume of the sample carrier storage rack. The symmetrical design makes each layer of the sample storage rack have the same structure, which saves costs and can flexibly adjust the storage capacity of the sample carrier.

[0020] The present invention adopts a multi-station sample carrier, and 10 or more samples can be sent to the transmission electron cavity at one time by using one sample carrier. Compared with the prior art, the throughput is increased by 10 times or more. The problem of too large volume of the sample storage rack under the condition of the same number of samples is solved. At the same time, the multi-station sample carrier is adopted to solve the problem of a small number of samples loaded at one time by the automatic loading device.

[0021] The positioning design of the sample carrier base frame storage slot of the present invention enables the multi-station sample carrier to fit with the sample storage rack slot, thereby achieving accurate positioning of the multi-station sample carrier.

[0022] In summary, the technical solution of the present invention has the characteristics of compact structure, flexible operation, cost saving, improved throughput and precise positioning, and is suitable for popularization and application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-station sample carrier, where: Figure 1 A is the front view, Figure 1 B is the bottom surface, Figure 1 C is the axis view; Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the sample carrier storage rack structure, where: Figure 2 A is the main view, Figure 2 B is the top view, Figure 2 C is the axis view; Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the storage slot of the single-layer sample carrier base rack, where: Figure 3 A is the bottom view, Figure 3 B is the axial view; Figure 4It is a schematic diagram of the automatic sample loading device mechanical arm clamping the sample carrier storage rack to load and unload samples.

[0024] In the figure: 1-sample belt, 2-robotic arm gripper slot, 3-sample carrier, 4-step, 5-sample carrier base fixing screw, 6-reed fixing screw, 7-reed, 8-ball positioning top screw, 9-carrier base unit, 10-limiting slot, 11-center hole, 12-second limiting boss, 13-reed mounting screw hole, 14-first limiting boss, 15-loading slot, 16-ball positioning top screw mounting screw hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments, and the advantages and features of the present invention will become clearer as the description proceeds. However, these embodiments are merely exemplary and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection defined by the claims of the present invention.

[0026] In conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the present invention, Figures 1 to 3 As shown, in a specific embodiment of a sample carrier storage rack for continuous section transmission electron microscope imaging provided by the present invention, the storage rack is stacked into a tower structure by carrier base units 9 for loading sample carriers 3, wherein the carrier base unit 9 is provided with a central hole 11, and four fins are radially symmetrically extended from the central hole, each fin is provided with a loading slot 15 for loading the sample carrier 3, which is surrounded by an inner peripheral inner side surface and two radially extending inner side surfaces and has an open outer peripheral surface, and the radial length of the sample carrier is longer than the radial extension length of the loading slot, so that the robot can clamp the sample carrier, and a station for placing sample slices is provided on the sample carrier 3. The carrier base units 9 are fixed by sample carrier base fixing screws 5.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the sample support 3 is a rectangular structure, and the radial length of the sample support is longer than the radial extension length of the loading slot. In a more preferred embodiment, the sample support 3 is a rectangular structure. The present invention designs the radial length of the sample support to be longer than the radial extension length of the loading slot, in order to facilitate the robot arm gripper to firmly grasp the sample support in the working state.

[0028] In another preferred embodiment, 1-50 sample strips 1 are arranged on the sample support plate 3, and the sample strips 1 can be a multi-station design arranged in a matrix, for example, 1×5, 2×5, 3×5, 4×5, 5×6, 5×8, etc. Those skilled in the art can adopt a suitable matrix design according to actual needs and technical parameters of the automatic sample loading device of the electron microscope. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the sample strip 1 is a 2×5 multi-station design, and two sample strips are attached to the sample support plate 3, each sample strip has 5 ultra-thin section samples, and each sample position corresponds to a hole position of the sample support plate one by one. .

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the sample carrier 3 is provided with robot gripper grooves 2 on both sides radially beyond the loading groove. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the robot gripper grooves 2 are designed to be arc-shaped.

[0030] The carrier base unit 9 described in the present invention is configured as a hollow structure, with four fins extending radially symmetrically from the center hole. In a preferred embodiment, the four fins extend radially cross-symmetrically from the center hole, that is, each fin has an angle of 90 degrees with the adjacent fin, and the four fins are evenly distributed on the circumference of the center hole.

[0031] In a more preferred embodiment, a first limiting boss 14 of a rectangular parallelepiped structure is arranged at the top of the adjacent area between the outer edge of the base of the carrier base unit 9 and the loading slot 15, and the first limiting boss 14 can be selected from two corresponding areas adjacent to the outer edge of the base of each carrier base unit and the four loading slots. A second limiting boss 12 of annular structure is arranged along the top of the inner edge of the center hole of the carrier base unit, and the bottom of the inner edge of the center hole is arranged in a stepped shape. A limiting groove 10 cooperating with the first limiting boss 14 is arranged at the bottom of each loading slot extending radially along the center hole of the carrier base unit, and a total of four limiting grooves 10 distributed in a cross shape are arranged at the bottom of each carrier base unit along the four fins. The first limiting boss 14 cooperates with the limiting groove 10 of the carrier base unit stacked thereon, and the second limiting boss 12 cooperates with the bottom of the center hole of the carrier base unit stacked thereon to play a limiting role. The point-shaped limiting of the first limiting boss 14 and the limiting groove 10, and the circumferential limiting of the second limiting boss 12 and the center hole can provide a more stable limiting. The carrier base unit can be stacked up and down to form a multi-layer tower structure, each layer has 4 loading slots, and each loading slot is used to place a sample carrier. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the tower structure has 13 layers, and each sample carrier is a 2×5 multi-station design. In this solution, the sample carrier storage rack can store 2×5×4×13=520 station belts.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment, a spring 7 is provided on the loading slot of the carrier base unit 9 along the circumferential direction, and the spring 7 is fixed to the positions of the radially extending tops on both sides of the loading slot, and a ball-shaped positioning screw 8 is provided on the radially extending inner side of the loading slot, and the spring 7 is used to make the sample carrier flush with the bottom surface of the loading slot, and the ball-shaped positioning screw 8 is used to make the sample carrier flush with the side of the loading slot. In a specific embodiment, the spring 7 is fixed to the positions of the radially extending tops on both sides of the loading slot by the spring fixing screw 6 passing through the spring mounting screw hole 13, and the ball-shaped positioning screw 8 is threadedly engaged with the side of the loading slot 15 of the carrier base unit through the ball-shaped positioning screw mounting screw hole 16, preferably located on one side.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, steps 4 are provided on both sides of the bottom surface of the sample support, and the height of the steps 4 makes the total height of the sample support greater than the thickness of the sample tape 1. The steps 4 are used to protect the sample tape 1 from being scratched by the loading slot during the process of loading the sample support.

[0034] Figure 4 The present invention provides a device for automatic sample loading in a transmission electron microscope, which comprises a mechanical arm system, a sample chamber and a vacuum system, and a sample carrier storage rack. The specific steps are as follows: 1. Insert the sample carrier 3 with the sample tape 1 attached into the loading slot of the carrier base unit 9 in the specified order and direction.

[0035] 2. Place the sample carrier storage rack with the sample carrier 3 at the designated position of the automatic sample loading device. The Z-axis robot arm in the vacuum chamber of the automatic sample loading device moves downward to grip the robot arm gripper groove 2 on the top side of the sample carrier storage rack to move the entire sample carrier storage rack. The Z-axis robot arm clamps the sample carrier storage rack and resets it.

[0036] 3. The specific actions of loading are as follows: after the Z-axis robot carries the sample carrier storage rack to the loading and unloading position, the X-axis robot clamps the target sample carrier, and the Z-axis robot carries the sample carrier storage rack back to the Standby position. The X-axis robot delivers the sample to the transmission electron microscope sample chamber, and the X-axis robot returns to the Standby position.

[0037] 4. The specific actions of sample unloading are as follows: the X-axis robot arm extends into the sample chamber of the transmission electron microscope to clamp the sample carrier 3, the X-axis robot arm brings the sample carrier 3 back to the Standby position, the Z-axis robot arm brings the sample storage rack down to the sample loading and unloading position, the X-axis robot arm puts the sample carrier back to the designated position, and both the X-axis robot arm and the Z-axis robot arm return to their respective Standby positions.

[0038] 5. The telescopic and clamping movements of the X-axis robot arm in the vacuum chamber of the automatic sample loading device are orderly combined with the lifting and rotating movements of the Z-axis robot arm to realize the loading and unloading of the transmission electron microscope.

[0039] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0040] It should be understood that the above specific embodiments of the present invention are only used to illustrate or explain the principles of the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. Therefore, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. In addition, the appended claims of the present invention are intended to cover all changes and modifications that fall within the scope and boundaries of the appended claims, or the equivalent forms of such scope and boundaries.

Claims

1. A sample carrier storage rack for electron microscope imaging, characterized in that: The sample carrier storage rack is composed of carrier base units for loading sample carriers stacked into a tower structure, wherein the carrier base unit is provided with a base, a center hole is provided in the center of the base, and N wings are symmetrically extended from the base in the radial outward direction from the center hole. Each wing is provided with a loading slot for loading sample carriers, which is connected and surrounded by the outer peripheral side surface of the center hole and the inner side surface of the side ridge extending radially from the wing, and the outer peripheral surface is open, and a work station for placing sample slices is provided on the sample carrier.

2. The sample support storage rack according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sample support plate is a rectangular structure, and the radial length of the sample support plate is longer than the radial extension length of the loading slot.

3. The sample support storage rack according to claim 1, characterized in that: 1-50 sample belt stations are arranged on the sample support plate.

4. The sample support storage rack according to claim 3, characterized in that: The sample carrier is provided with mechanical arm gripping grooves on both sides radially beyond the loading groove.

5. The sample support storage rack according to claim 1, characterized in that: N=4, the four fins extend radially from the central hole in a cross-symmetrical manner.

6. The sample support storage rack according to claim 5, characterized in that: A first limiting boss of a rectangular structure is provided at the top of the adjacent area between the outer edge of the base of the carrier base unit and the loading slot, and a second limiting boss of a circular ring structure is provided along the top of the inner edge of the center hole of the carrier base unit. The bottom of the inner edge of the center hole is set in a stepped shape, and a limiting groove cooperating with the first limiting boss is provided at the bottom of each loading slot extending radially along the center hole of the carrier base unit. The first limiting boss cooperates with the limiting groove of the carrier base unit stacked thereon, and the second limiting boss cooperates with the bottom of the center hole of the carrier base unit stacked thereon to perform a limiting function.

7. The sample support storage rack according to claim 1, characterized in that: A spring is circumferentially arranged on the loading slot of the carrier base unit, and the spring is fixed at the positions of the radially extending tops on both sides of the loading slot. A ball-shaped positioning screw is arranged on the radially extending inner side of the loading slot. The spring is used to make the sample carrier flush with the bottom surface of the loading slot, and the ball-shaped positioning screw is used to make the sample carrier flush with the side of the loading slot.

8. The sample support storage rack according to claim 1, characterized in that: Steps are provided on both sides of the bottom surface of the sample support plate, and the height of the steps makes the total height of the sample support plate greater than the thickness of the sample tape.

9. A device for automatic sample loading in a transmission electron microscope, characterized in that: The device comprises a robotic arm system, a sample chamber and a vacuum system, and a sample support storage rack according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A method for automatic sample loading using the sample support storage rack according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method comprises the following steps: (1) Insert the sample carrier with the sample tape into the loading slot of the carrier base unit in the specified order and direction; (2) Place the sample carrier storage rack with the sample carrier on the designated position of the automatic sample loading device, and move the Z-axis robotic arm in the vacuum chamber of the automatic sample loading device downward to grip the robotic arm gripper groove on the top side of the sample carrier storage rack to move the entire sample carrier storage rack, and then reset the Z-axis robotic arm with the sample carrier storage rack; (3) The telescopic and clamping movements of the X-axis robotic arm in the vacuum chamber of the automatic loading device are combined with the lifting and rotating movements of the Z-axis robotic arm in an orderly manner to realize the loading and unloading of the transmission electron microscope.

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