Rotating Sample Holder Cooling for Smooth Ion Beam Milling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sample processing techniques using ion beams often cause thermal damage to polymer or low-melting-point metal samples, preventing the production of an excellently smooth surface.
Innovation Solution
A sample holder with a holder base thermally connected to a cooling source and a rotating body that comes into slidable surface contact with the holder base, allowing efficient cooling during ion beam processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If planar surface milling is performed using an ion beam on polymer or low-melting-point metal samples, then surface smoothness is improved, but thermal damage occurs to the sensitive samples
Solution Approach 1:
The sample holder is pre-cooled to a temperature lower than the melting point of the sample before ion beam irradiation begins. This preliminary cooling action ensures that the sample is in a thermally safe state before the harmful thermal effects of ion beam processing start, preventing thermal damage while allowing surface smoothing to occur.
Solution Approach 2:
A cooling source is introduced as an intermediary system between the ion beam source and the sample. The cooling source mediates the thermal interaction by actively removing heat from the sample holder and sample, allowing the ion beam to process the surface without causing thermal damage to sensitive materials.
2Manufacturing precision
If a sample holder is rotated during ion beam processing, then surface uniformity is improved, but thermal contact efficiency may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling contact interface is segmented into multiple sliding contact points between the rotating body and the holder base. This segmentation ensures that at any given moment, multiple areas maintain thermal contact, compensating for the rotation and maintaining overall thermal efficiency while allowing the sample to rotate for uniform processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding contact between the rotating body and holder base creates periodic thermal contact as the rotating body revolves. This periodic action ensures continuous heat removal throughout the rotation cycle, maintaining thermal efficiency while enabling the rotational motion needed for uniform surface processing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces thermal damage and enables the production of an excellently smooth surface by planar surface milling, even for sensitive samples.
Implementation Method 1
a holder base thermally connected to a cooling source
Implementation Method 2
the rotating body having a sliding surface that comes into slidable surface contact with the holder base
Data Source
AI summary
A sample holder used for a sample processing apparatus that applies a charged particle beam to a sample to process the sample. The sample holder includes a holder base thermally connected to a cooling source, a rotating body rotatably supported on the holder base to hold the sample, and a drive unit that rotates the rotating body. The rotating body has a sliding surface that comes into slidable surface contact with the holder base.