SEM sample preparation consists of several stages, namely cleaning the surface of the

specimen, stabilizing the specimen, rinsing the specimen, dehydrating the specimen, drying the
specimen, and coating the specimen. The use of coatings with Non-metals needs to be made
conductive and carried out using a tool called a sputter coater. Furthermore, the conductive
materials are Gold, Gold-palladium alloy, Platinum, Osmium, Iridium, Tungsten, Chromium and
Graphite.

Cleaning the specimen surface is very important because the surface contains a lot of
unwanted deposits, such as dust, mud, soil, etc. Dehydration of the specimen by means of water
must be removed, air drying causes collapse and shrinkage, this is usually achieved by replacing the
water in the cell with an organic solvent such as ethanol or acetone, dehydration is carried out with
a graded sequence of ethanol or acetone. Dry the specimen by ensuring that the specimen is
completely dry. Otherwise, the sample will be destroyed. Furthermore, the way of placing the
specimen is that the specimen must be mounted on a holder, rigidly mounted on a specimen holder
called a specimen stub. For dry specimens, it is attached to the specimen stub using an adhesive
such as spoxy resin or electrically conductive double-sided adhesive tape.