QUANTIFOIL® is a carbon film for electron microscopy or low-energy electron point source microscopy.
- Mounted on copper, nickel or gold grids
- Foil is 12 nm thick
- Thicknesses between 10 and 25 nm upon request
QUANTIFOIL® is a perforated support foil with pre-defined hole size, shape and arrangement that has advantages in electron microscopy (EM) or low-energy electron point source (LEEPS) when compared with conventional holey film. QUANTIFOIL® with circular holes is used in cryo-electron tomographic reconstruction. The roundness of the holes is advantageous with respect to the formation of an ice layer of constant thickness.
The hole size chosen depends on the magnification used, and on whether or not one wishes to include support film in the image. Assessment of the image quality is easier when foil is included in the picture, because the power spectrum of a foil is stronger than that of unsupported ice.
QUANTIFOIL® R 2/1 has more open area than R 2/2. The hole size is 2 µm. Space between holes is 1 µm. It is used when focusing is carried out on the edge of a hole burnt in the ice in a neighboring hole instead of on the foil adjacent to the hole.
QUANTIFOIL® R 2/2 has a hole size of 2 µm. Space between holes is 2 µm. Center to center is 4 µm. This type is used at magnifications between 30000x and 40000x.
QUANTIFOIL® R 2/4 has a hole size of 2 µm. Space between holes is 4 µm. Center to center is 6 µm. This type may be preferred over R 2/2, when an increased tolerance with respect to the position of beam, and a larger beam Ø are desired, such as in the case of automated image acquisition.
Ordering information: QUANTIFOIL® is delivered as a carbon foil; it can be reinforced with plastic film. The grids are packed with their coated side toward the center of the grid box.