Sample Preparation; Loading A Sample - Linkam Scientific Instruments LTS420 User Manual

Sample Preparation

Note: Temperature control performance is easily
compromised. Therefore it is very important to
keep the Heating/Cooling block and microscope
glass slide clean. Use a soft cloth and IPA (iso-
propyl alcohol) to clean.
The Heating/Cooling block is made from pure
silver, a soft metal. Please take extra care when
cleaning the block to avoid scratching the surface
and therefore compromising the temperature
accuracy of the sample.

Loading a Sample

The Microscope Slide Holder is fitted on to the
LTS420 and the holder is not touching the silver
heating/cooling block, it should hover just above
it.
Note: if necessary the Microscope Slide Holder
can be bent with a little force into shape to help it
to hold the microscope glass slide.
Place a standard microscope glass slide
(26x76mm) in the Microscope Slide Holder, use
a spatula and tap on the microscope glass slide to
make sure that it is sitting flat on the heating
block .
Place the sample on top of the microscope glass
slide. Ensure that the sample is as small as possi-
ble and that it is as flat as possible. Heat flow into
or out of the sample is affected by the amount of
sample area in contact with the temperature con-
trolled surface.
Place a W16G (16 x 0.17mm) or a W22G (22 x
0.17mm) glass cover on top of the sample and
gently tap the top with the back of the tweezers to
disperse powder samples. Doing this to ensure
good thermal contact of irregularly shaped sam-
ples and to create a flat surface for the microscope
lens to focus on.
Accurate temperatures can be obtained by keep-
ing the sample as small and flat as possible.
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