GridTape Aperture Tape Structure for Automated TEM Sample Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current TEM sample collection methods are laborious and error-prone, particularly for nano-scale electron-transparent substrates, and lack compatibility with automated handling techniques.
Innovation Solution
A TEM-compatible tape substrate with a trough configuration and electron-lucent support film, featuring apertures covered by the film and a stacked design for automated sample collection and handling, allowing for efficient and error-free sample imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual techniques are used to collect samples onto separate imaging substrates, then the integrity of nano-scale electron-transparent substrates is maintained, but the process becomes laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is divided into multiple discrete apertures arranged in an array, allowing multiple samples to be collected simultaneously on a single continuous substrate. This segmentation enables parallel processing of multiple samples while maintaining the integrity of each individual sampling location.
Solution Approach 2:
A single continuous substrate serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, defines multiple sampling locations through apertures, and maintains sample integrity during automated handling. The substrate acts as both a mechanical support structure and a sample carrier for multiple specimens.
2Extent of automation
If a tape-based substrate is used to enable automated handling, then automation compatibility is improved, but the solution becomes error-prone and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate combines a flexible tape-based support structure with a rigid aperture array pattern. This composite design provides the flexibility needed for automated reel-to-reel handling while maintaining the structural rigidity required for precise sample positioning and TEM imaging stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from traditional two-dimensional grid substrates to a three-dimensional continuous tape structure that can be wound and unwound. This dimensional change enables automated handling through reel-to-reel mechanisms while maintaining all necessary sampling functions through the aperture array.
3Reliability
If separate imaging substrates are used for each sample, then sample integrity is maintained, but productivity decreases due to manual handling
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous substrate is segmented into multiple discrete apertures, allowing multiple samples to be collected and imaged simultaneously. This enables high-throughput sampling where many specimens can be processed in parallel, dramatically increasing productivity while maintaining individual sample integrity through isolated aperture design.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous substrate allows for uninterrupted automated sample collection and imaging processes. Samples can be continuously deposited onto the moving tape substrate and immediately imaged, eliminating the discontinuities and handling steps required when using separate substrates for each sample.
Data Source
AI summary
A tape for collecting tissue samples in a manner compatible with imaging in a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) system, includes a tape substrate having two side walls forming a trough. The trough is defined by a bottom surface of the tape substrate and internal surfaces of the side walls, with an open side therebetween. A support film is attached to a top surface of the tape substrate, and a plurality of apertures is spaced at predetermined locations along the length of the tape substrate, each aperture being covered by the support film. The tape includes a stacked configuration in which the tape substrate is wound in layers, the bottom surfaces of the side walls in one layer being in contact with the support film in an immediately adjacent layer. The apertures in the second layer are aligned within the trough of the first layer, between the side walls.