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The carbon rods are offered in either spectroscopically pure or technical grades for standard electron microscopy evaporation requirements using carbon coaters. Due to the purification process used all carbon rods we supply have a graphite structure. The purification process removes impurities at a high temperature and causes the carbon to crystallize. The graphite structure has no adverse effects on the carbon coating or the carbon coating process. The user might perceive an additional advantage: the carbon rods (graphite rods) are less brittle than the carbon rods and are easier to handle and easier to shape.
Technical grade carbon rods have a typical impurity level of around 50ppm or greater. Typical applications are non critical SEM or SEM/EDS coating of non-conducting samples.
"Spec-Pure" (spectroscopically pure) grade is available for carbon (graphite) rods with impurities equal or less than 2ppm (single element 1 ppm or less). Typically the impurity level is more likely 1ppm or less. This grade should be used for TEM, FESEM, FIB, WDS, EBSD, Microprobe and more critical SEM/EDS applications.
Grade 2 Carbon Rods, Technical Grade
Technical grade graphite structure carbon rods contain impurities typically equal to or less than 50ppm. However, as an exception some batches can contain impurities up to 200 ppm. The impurities typically consist of: (ppm max.): Ca 20, Fe 20, Cr 10, Si 2-5, Ti 8-10, V 4-4 and traces of other elements. Use this grade for non-critical SEM and SEM/EDS applications.