The ultrastructures of novel threadlike structures (NTSs) and corpuscles on the surfaces of internal organs of rats were investigated using electron microscopy. The samples were studied in situ by using a stereomicroscope and were taken for further morphological analysis. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed a bundle structure of threadlike tissue, which was composed of several 10-micro m-thick subducts. The surfaces of the corpuscles were rather coarse and fenestrated. The corpuscles had cucumber-like shapes with an average length of about 2 mm and a thickness of about 400 micro m. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images disclosed disordered collagen fibers, which formed the extracellular matrix of the threadlike tissue, and immune-function cells, like macrophages, mast cells, and eosinophils. Sinuses of various diameters, which were thought to be cross-sections of the lumens of the subducts, were observed in the TEM, cryo-SEM and focused-ion-beam SEM images. These SEM images were obtained for the first time to reveal the detailed structure of the NTSs that were only recently discovered.

We have prepared lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (La0.50Sr0.50CoO3; LSCO 50/50) and lanthanum strontium cobalt nickel oxide (La0.50Sr0.50Co0.50Ni0.50O3; LSCNO) as candidate transparent electrodes for use in a shutter-based infrared sensor protection device. The shutter device requires that the electrode be transparent (80% transmission) and have moderate sheet resistance (300 ω/sq.). Because of the effects of film thickness on intrinsic material properties, such as resistivity and extinction coefficient, and simple engineering issues (i.e., the relationship between film thickness, resistance and transmission), films of various thicknesses were prepared to achieve an optimal balance of electrical and optical performance. van der Pauw measurements and FTIR spectroscopy were used to study thin film properties. The best LSCO films prepared demonstrated electrical (438 ω/sq.) and optical (68% transmission at 8 µm) properties that did not meet the target property goals for this application. However, the LSCNO films (of optimal thickness) offered performance (323 µ/sq. and 73% transmission) close to the device requirements.

Step and Flash Imprint involves the field-by-field deposition and exposure of a low viscosity resist deposited by jetting technology onto the substrate. The patterned mask is lowered into the fluid which then quickly flows into the relief patterns in the mask by capillary action. Following this filling step, the resist is crosslinked under UV radiation, and then the mask is removed leaving a patterned solid on the substrate. Compatibility with existing CMOS processes requires a mask infrastructure in which resolution, inspection and repair are all addressed. The purpose of this paper is to understand the progress made in inspection and repair of 1X imprint masks A 32 nm programmed defect mask was fabricated. Patterns included in the mask consisted of an SRAM Metal 1 cell, dense lines, and dense arrays of pillars. Programmed defect sizes started at 4 nm and increased to 48 nm in increments of 4 nm. These defects were then inspected using three different electron beam inspection systems. Defect sizes as small as 8 nm were detected, and detection limits were found to be a function of defect type. Both subtractive and additive repairs were attempted on SRAM Metal 1 cells. Repairs as small as 32nm were demonstrated, and the repair process was successfully tested for several hundreds of imprints. Keywords: step and flash imprint lithography, S-FIL, imprint lithography, imprint mask, electron beam inspection, e-beam repair, mask repair

We have developed a cryo-STEM holder which is compatible with commercial cryo-transfer stages for scanning electron microscopes (SEM). The new cryo-STEM setup allows the image and analysis of frozen specimens in both transmission and conventional secondary electron modes down to liquid nitrogen temperatures.In these days most electron microscope manufacturers offer scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) detectors for their SEMs. The solid state STEM detectors are based on doped semiconductors with low work-functions, where the incident electrons generate multiple electronhole (E-H) pairs and the free charge carriers can be collected and further processed. Currently, all commercially available STEM detectors are built for EM observations at room temperature. However, FEI Company recently introduced a so called "Wet-STEM" detector for imaging of wet and hydrated specimens. The STEM design includes a Peltier stage, where the specimen temperature can be lowered to around 0°C.The new cryo-STEM design involves two parts. First, the main cryo-holder in the SEM sample chamber has been modified to house a state-of-the-art second generation STEM detector. The STEM detector consists of 14 diode segments as illustrated in Figure 1. Similar to a dedicated STEM instrument the arrangement of the diodes allows obtaining true bright and dark field images. Second, the sledge has been redesigned to meet following four requirements: (1) The TEM grid can be loaded into the sledge in a protected and cooled environment, such as in a FEI Vitrobot TM or cryo chamber of an ultramicrotome. Further, (2) the sample needs to be maintained at liquid nitrogen temperature during transport and transfer into the cryo transfer chamber. Also, (3) the frozen sample has to be protected from humidity in air or liquid nitrogen, to avoid ice formation on the sample surface and finally, (4) the sledge needs to be compatible with the stage in the cryo-transfer chamber.Photographs of the cryo-holder and sledge are shown in Figure 2. The TEM grid sits on a rod which slides into a protective cavity during transport and transfer (Figure 2a). After the transfer into the SEM cryo-transfer chamber, the fracture knife is used to move the sample back into the open STEM position (Figure 2b). Another feature of the sledge is that the clamp, which holds the grid in position, is manufactured from a low background material to minimize the signal from the holder during the EDS analysis.In this presentation we will introduce the cryo-STEM/SEM design and show first results of frozen tissue, cell monolayers and polymers.

Microparticles (MP) spray dried from hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticle (NP) sugar suspensions are currently under development as a prolonged release vaccine vehicle. Those with a significant sugar component cannot be sectioned by ultramicrotomy as resins are excluded by the sugar. Focused ion beam (FIB) milling is the only method to prepare thin sections that enables the inspection of the MPs ultrastructure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Several methods have been explored and we have found it is simplest to encapsulate MPs in silver dag, sandwiched between gold foils for FIB-milling to enable multiple MPs to be sectioned simultaneously. Spray dried MPs containing 80% sugar have an inter-nanoparticle separation that is comparable with NP size (approximately 50 nm). MPs spray dried with 50% sugar or no sugar are more tightly packed. Nano-porosity in the order of 10 nm exists between NPs. MPs spray dried in the absence of sugar and sectioned by ultramicrotomy or by FIB-milling have comparable nanoscale morphologies. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) demonstrates that the HA remains (substantially) crystalline following FIB-milling.