JPH10275582A - Specimen heating and cooling device of electronic microscope or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and stably heat and cool specimens by arranging a second heat conductor cooled by a coolant capable of coming in contact with or removal from a first heat conductor by thermal expansion and contraction to the first heat conductor contacting a specimen. SOLUTION: When the temperature of a heat conductors 2a and 2b is lowered, and the heat conductors 2a and 2b are contracted respectively, a key- type bonding face is tightened each other, bonding of the heat conductors 2a and 2b is strong, and thermal contact is improved. When a specimen 1 is heated by employing a heating power source 4, a temperature of the heat conductors 2a and 2b rises and is thermally expanded, as a result the key-type bonding face is released, and thermal insulation of the specimen is improved. During cooling of the sample 1, thermal contact of the heat conductors 2a and 2b is improved, heat insulation property of the specimen 1 is improved during heating, and the specimen 1 is heated and cooled respectively by the same structure with efficiency and stability without changing an arrangement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for heating and cooling a sample such as an electron microscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus for heating and cooling a sample such as an electron microscope will be schematically described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, sample 1
Are in contact with the heat conductor 2 and are cooled via the heat conductor 2 by the refrigerant 3 or the like. In addition, the heating is performed by energizing the sample 1 using the heating power supply 4. Thus, the sample 1 is heated or cooled, and observation with an electron microscope is performed in each state.

[0003]

In an apparatus for observing a minute area such as an electron microscope, if the temperature of the sample and the surrounding area is not stable, the observation area moves and cannot be observed with high accuracy. In the example of FIG. 3, in order to efficiently and stably heat the sample 1, the sample 1 needs to be thermally insulated from the outside. However, the sample 1 is connected to the heat conductor 2 for cooling and the refrigerant 3 and is not thermally insulated. Conversely, in order to efficiently and stably cool the sample 1, it is necessary to improve the thermal contact between the sample 1 and the heat conductor 2. Therefore, it has been difficult to efficiently and stably perform heating and cooling of the sample 1 with the same structure without changing the configuration.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a sample heating / cooling apparatus such as an electron microscope which can efficiently and stably heat and cool a sample without changing the configuration of the apparatus. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a first heat conductor in contact with a sample, wherein the first heat conductor is cooled by a refrigerant,
It is characterized by comprising a second heat conductor capable of contacting / separating from the first heat conductor by thermal expansion and contraction, and heating means for heating the sample. Further, the present invention provides a first heat conductor which is in contact with a sample, a second heat conductor which is cooled by a refrigerant and which can be contacted / separated from the first heat conductor by thermal expansion and contraction, and a heating means. , A third heat conductor that can be brought into contact with and separated from the first heat conductor by thermal expansion and contraction.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. 1A and 1B show an example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows a state when a sample is cooled, and FIG. 1B shows a state when a sample is heated. In FIG. 1A, a sample 1 is placed on a heat conductor 2a, and is cooled by a refrigerant 3 via a heat conductor 2b that can be contacted / separated from the heat conductor 2a. Further, the sample 1 is heated by energization from a heating power supply 4 composed of a constant current source. The joint surface between the heat conductor 2a and the heat conductor 2b is in a key shape and meshes with each other. The heat conductors 2a and 2b are made of a material having good thermal conductivity, such as copper, which contracts at a low temperature and expands at a high temperature. As a material of the heat conductor, a material having good thermal conductivity at low temperatures and a large coefficient of thermal expansion, strength,
It is necessary to select in consideration of the ease of processing, etc., but it is preferable to use copper from a comprehensive perspective.
It is also possible to use aluminum, stainless steel, or the like.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described. When the sample 1 is cooled by the coolant 3 (FIG. 1A), the temperatures of the heat conductors 2a and 2b decrease, and the heat conductor 2b contracts. As a result, the key-shaped joint surfaces are tightened together. As a result, the joining of the heat conductors 2a and 2b is strengthened, the thermal contact is improved, and the condition for cooling is satisfied. On the other hand, when the sample 1 is heated using the heating power supply 4 (FIG. 1).
In ((b)), the temperature of the heat conductors 2a and 2b rises and thermally expands. As a result, the key-shaped bonding surface is separated, the thermal insulation of the sample is improved, and the heating conditions are satisfied. Thus, when the sample 1 is cooled, the heat conductor 2
Since the thermal contact between a and 2b is improved and the thermal insulation of the sample 1 is improved during heating, the heating and cooling of the sample 1 can be performed efficiently and stably without changing the configuration using the same apparatus. Can be.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of the embodiment of the present invention. 2, the configurations of the sample 1, the refrigerant 3, and the heat conductors 2a and 2b are the same as those in FIG. In this example, the heat conductor 2c is provided on the heating side, and one end of the heat conductor 2c is in contact with the heat conductor 2a. The other end is in contact with the heater 5. The joining surfaces of the heat conductors 2a and 2c expand and contact at a high temperature, and are contracted and separated at a low temperature. As described in the case of FIG. 1, the heat conductors 2a and 2
b comes into contact, while the heat conductors 2a and 2c are cut off. During heating, the heat conductors 2a and 2c expand and come into contact with each other, and the heat conductors 2a and 2b are separated. In this way, similarly to the case of FIG. 1, the heating and cooling of the sample can be efficiently and stably performed without changing the configuration using the same structure of the apparatus.

The combination and number of the heat conductors can be changed as necessary. The shape of the heat conductor may be any shape as long as it can be contacted and separated by expansion and contraction, and the method of cooling and heating is not limited to the above method. In addition, the heating and cooling devices for the sample described above are not limited to electron microscopes and the like.
The present invention is applicable to all devices that require the stability of the sample temperature.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to heat and cool a sample without changing the configuration of the apparatus by contacting and separating the heat conductor using expansion and contraction of the heat conductor. In addition, the sample can be efficiently and stably heated and cooled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows a state when a sample is cooled, and FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of heating and cooling of a sample such as an electron microscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Sample, 2a, 2b, 2c ... Heat conductor, 3 ...
Refrigerant, 4 ... heating power supply, 5 ... heater, 6 ... heater power supply.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first heat conductor which is in contact with a sample, a second heat conductor which is cooled by a refrigerant and which can be contacted / separated from the first heat conductor by thermal expansion and contraction, and heating means for heating the sample A sample heating / cooling device such as an electron microscope equipped with: A first heat conductor which is in contact with a sample, a second heat conductor which is cooled by a refrigerant and which can be contacted / separated from the first heat conductor by thermal expansion and contraction, and a heating means; A sample heating / cooling device such as an electron microscope including a third heat conductor that can be brought into contact with and separated from the first heat conductor by thermal expansion and contraction.