Coated Grids The diameter of grids is standard, as 3.05mm. The thickness is variable based on the grid materials.

The thickness range is from 10um to 25um. The mesh of the grid is defined by the number of hole within 1 inch. For example, the 200 mesh grid has 20 holes along diameter direction, 400 mesh grid has 40 holes in diameter. Since the diameter of grid is a standard length, 3.05mm, each hole size is less than ~200um in 100 mesh grid, ~97um in 200 mesh grid, ~63um in 300 mesh grid and ~42um in 400 mesh grid. Most samples for transmission electron microscopy must be "supported" on some kind of a thin electron transparent film, to hold the specimen in place while in the objective lens of the TEM. Only samples that are "self- supporting" do not need some additional support film. Should an electron microscope user use a support film at all if one is not absolutely needed? Probably not, because even the very best quality of support films do result in more material being placed in the beam's path, resulting ,even if ever so slightly, in reducing the contrast of the final image. But for many users, they don't have the luxury of having to make that decision: More often than not, even what appear to be self-supporting samples, still do need the assistance of a support film to cut down on sample drift. Types of coated grid available Thin carbon film coated grids: This is pure thin carbon film coated grid. The carbon film is very clean and pure. Thickness of the carbon film is less than 10nm. Since the film is very thin and fragile, it requires delicate handling during specimen preparation. We only coated it on 400 mesh grids. Glow discharge will make the carbon surface less hydrophobic.

Thick carbon film coated grids: This is pure thick carbon film coated grid. The carbon film is very clean and pure. The thickness of the carbon film is about 35nm. Since the pure carbon film is very fragile, we don't coat them on grids less than 200 mesh. Glow discharge will make the carbon surface less hydrophobic. Carbon/Formvar film grids: A 20-30nm Formvar film coated grid with a ~15nm layer of carbon. This is the strongest and most versatile support film. It is stable in the EM under all operating conditions including high magnification with high beam intensity. The films can withstand vigorous specimen preparation techniques. If the carbon surface is hydrophobic, specimen suspensions can be applied to the Formvar surface or glow discharged.

The selection of the "right" support film has never been an easy exercise, even the most experienced of TEM experts, and the only way to really determine which support film is the best for a particular application it to just "try it!" Therefore, we would like to contribute in a useful way to the needed information base to help make the optimum selections, but the giving of such "guidance" itself is an imprecise science. We have therefore broken down the different kinds of support films and have tried to present the "trade offs" between one support film system vs. another. We can offer no guarantees, since the range of samples studied is so wide and the environmental range so broad (from cryo temperatures to temperatures exceeding 1000C) to which the grids and their coatings might be subjected. But the best decisions are usually made by just trying several possibilities and if one works better than the other, the choice for future samples becomes obvious. Following table will help you determine which support film to use for your particular transmission electron microscopy project.