PELCO® Holey Silicon Nitride Support Film for TEM

200nm membrane with holes from 5µm down to 100nm

Advanced MEMS technologies have been applied to incorporate many improvements into this truly unique next generation Holey Silicon Nitride Support Membrane. Holey membranes or support films are also referred to as perforated or patterned films; there is no film or membrane covering the holes. The platform for this holey silicon nitride support film is the low stress 200nm amorphous silicon nitride support film on a circular 3mm silicon frame with a 0.5 x 0.5mm window. There are twelve hole sizes available ranging from 100nm to 5µm. This design has a number of advantages over previously offered products:

• Large open area
  
• Closely packed, higher pore density using hexagonal pore pattern
  
• Added resilience of membrane
  
• Practical hole size for experiments
  
• TEM standard circular shape and size
  
• EasyGrip™ edge for improved handling

The PELCO® Silicon Nitride Support Films are resistant to solvents, acids and bases, allowing for dynamic experiments directly on the holey membrane. The Silicon Nitride Support Films allow for high temperature experiments/imaging up to 1000°C. Films can be easily cleaned using glow discharge or plasma cleaning techniques. They also provide a carbon-free background for TEM imaging and analysis. The clean manufacturing techniques avoid the debris particles that are often found on other makes of silicon nitride support films.

Product Specifications
Defining parameters for the PELCO® Holey Silicon Nitride Support Films are:

• Membrane Thickness: 200nm for added resilience
  
• Window Size: 0.5 x 0.5mm
  
• Pore Diameter: Sizes are within 10% of diameter
  
• Pattern: Close packed hexagonal arrangement of rows and columns - see table
  
• Perforated Area: See table below
  
• Nominal Porosity: Range between 22.3% to 22.8%
  
• Frame Thickness: Silicon support structure is 200µm standard. This allows for fitting in standard TEM holders and gives a sturdy support frame
  
• Surface Roughness: The RMS (Rq) is 0.65 +/- 0.06nm which gives a mean roughness (Ra) of 0.45 +/- 0.02nm
  
• Frame Diameter: TEM standard 3mm diameter disc, fully compatible with regular TEM holders and with EasyGrip™ edges for improved handling
  
• Packaging: The PELCO® Holey Silicon Nitride Support Films are packaged under cleanroom conditions. Each box holds 10 support films.
  

Back Side of
PELCO® Holey Silicon Nitride Support Film
(enlarged)

Front Side of
PELCO® Holey Silicon Nitride Support Film
(enlarged)

Single Pore Sizes

Multiple Pore Sizes