Highest Grade Mica Sheets

Mica and Single Crystal Substrates
Silicon Chip Specimen Supports and Wafers
Gold Coated Silicon Wafers, Slides and Coverslips

Mica Substrates for AFM, TEM and SEM

Freshly cleaved muscovite mica surfaces have an outstanding even surface, are optically flat, clear, transparent, scratchless and free from fingerprints. They are very useful in electron microscopy for production of carbon support films, particle imaging, cell growing and thin film coating research. Muscovite mica surface are also suitable as substrates for high resolution atomic force microcopy studies such as DNA, DNA-protein and thin films.

Cleaving mica involves insertion of a sharp edge or point into an edge or corner of the sheet and gently prying apart the leaves. A good sharp razor blade edge will do the job and in some cases a sharp pointed tweezer may accomplish this.. The freshly exposed micro surface should be used immediately after cleaving to take advantage of the clean and even surface. The muscovite mica is die cut to the sizes offered. The thickness of the mica sheets varies between 0.18 - 0.25mm (0.007 - 0.01") which yields much thinner, uniform sheets.

Cleaving can also be achieved by placing a double coated piece of tape onto the mica surface and gently pulling off the mica layer starting on one edge of the mica. Then place mica with tape side down on to a specimen disc or mount. Muscovite mica cleaves on the {001} plane. Ruby muscovite color ranges from almost white through pink to a light ruby and into shades of brownish ruby and brown. It is considered of higher quality (compared to green muscovite) because of hardness and excellent cleavage properties permitting it to be split into the thinnest desired film without the risk of cracking. It is optically flat, resilient and incompressible. While it splits into thin films along its cleavage planes, it remains tough and elastic, even at high temperatures. Chemically, mica is a complex hydrous silicate of aluminum, containing potassium, magnesium, iron, sodium fluoride and/or lithium and traces of other elements. It is stable and inert to water, acids (except hydrofluoric and concentrated sulfuric acids), alkalis, conventional solvents and oil. Our mica has minimum inclusions, minimum air and bubbles and is clean. ASTM D-351 describes grading standards for mica.

Properties and chemical composition of Mica Grade V1

Mica Grades
Mica grades from V-1 to V-5 with V-1 being the highest quality.

1. V-1 Clear, hard, of uniform color, nearly flat, free from stains, foreign inclusions, cracks and other similar defects.
2. V-2 Clear and slightly stained. May contain slight crystallographic discoloration and very slight air inclusions in one fourth of the usable area.
3. V-3 Fair stained. Hard, of uniform color, may contain slight waves, slight crystallographic discoloration, and medium air inclusions in not more than one half of the usable area.
4. V-4 Good stained. Hard, of uniform color, may contain medium waves. Slight crystallographic discoloration and medium air inclusions in not more than two thirds of the usable area.
5. V-5 Stained A quality. Hard, may contain medium air inclusions, uniformly distributed in the usable area, slight green vegetable stains and medium waviness.