Instrument Details

The Dimple Grinder II, model 657, is a precision instrument used to produce circular dimples (spherical or flat-bottomed profile) in materials such as ceramics, semiconductors, metals, and combinations thereof. The principle application is in preparing transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimens for ductile and fragile materials. When specimens are mechanically dimpled prior to final thinning, the finished specimen has a more uniform thickness, a larger than usual electron-transparent area, and is very robust, with a thick rim surrounding the thin central region.

The Dimple Grinder II instrument is gentle enough and provides sufficient control over the dimpling process that many materials, such as ceramics and semiconductors, can be thinned below 3 µm with practically no mechanical damage. It is fast and reliable mechanical method of pre-thinning TEM sample to near electron transparency to greatly reduce ion milling times and uneven thinning.

Advantages:

• Large transparent areas: Utilizes both the large wheel and flat wheel to preserve a large transparent area after processing
• Stronger specimens: Leaves a thick supporting rim to protect and strengthen the specimen after dimpling
• Direct preparation of TEM specimens: Produces a final thickness of <3 μm in dimpled specimens
• Accurate depth and thickness control: User-defined stop point, and real-time display ensure you can produce the appropriate dimple depth and thickness
• Micro-positioning: Provides both orthogonal and intersect axes for more accurate positioning