TESCAN Webinar:

Low-temperature electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become an established technique for capturing and observing beam-sensitive samples in their close-to-natural state.

Cryo-sectioning is a standard method used for thinning and slicing such samples. However, the integrity of the specimens can be degraded easily by common artifacts such as knife marks, compression, or crevasses. Focused ion beam (FIB), on the other hand, is used extensively to reveal sub-surface information from bulk material, create samples for other analytical modalities, or prepare ultra-thin specimens for analysis in transmission electron microscopy (TEM), without knife-sectioning artifacts.

Moreover, combining the site-specific milling capabilities of FIB with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) opens a broad range of possibilities for preparing biological samples. FIB-SEM systems are widely used for routine preparation of ultra-thin TEM specimens as well as precision cross-sectioning and 3D volume imaging, which are possible in both ambient temperatures and cryogenic conditions.

In this seminar, we will demonstrate the feasibility and discuss the potential of TESCAN cryo-FIB-SEM as a reliable tool for cryo-TEM sample preparation, with its exceptional range of additional capabilities—all within a single versatile workstation.