US Patent Issued to FEI on Dec. 2 for "Crenellated sample holder and sputter target for sample preparation in cryo electron microscopy applications" (Oregon Inventor)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 2 -- United States Patent no. 12,488,957, issued on Dec. 2, was assigned to FEI Co. (Hillsboro, Ore.).

"Crenellated sample holder and sputter target for sample preparation in cryo electron microscopy applications" was invented by Chad Rue (Hillsboro, Ore.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "To reduce charging artifacts in electron microscopy, a notched ring of sputterable material can be situated about a sample surface. An ion beam can be directed through a notch at to sputter the sputterable material onto the sample surface. Sputtering can be performed after low-angle focused ion beam (FIB) milling at the same sample tilts. The sample can be rotated about an axis and sputter...