MVLscope WHY THIS MATTERS
SAMPLE PREPARATION · SEM · INTERACTIVE WORKFLOW
A surface ready for SEM
Keep the specimen, contact, coating, and evidence connected.
Opening the preparation workbench… The outline and sources below remain available.
The preparation workbench
The labelled diagram works without 3D.
What the evidence shows
Connect preparation to the instrument.
These links open separate instrument lessons. This virtual specimen and its notebook remain here; they are not transferred into another simulator.
INSPECTION NOTEBOOK
Keep the preparation with the evidence.
Each checkpoint keeps its picture, settings and preparation history. A new virtual specimen preserves your saved comparisons.
Inspect and keep a checkpoint to begin.
A surface ready for SEM · MVLscope · Constructed preparation model v1 · https://mvlscope.com/learn/sem-preparation
Workflow outline & learning goals
Same surface, different question
Choose a conductive metal or an insulating mineral model, then decide what evidence you need. The fragment retains the same authored pits and ridges throughout this run. The metal model assumes bulk conductivity; a real oxide layer or insulating inclusion could behave differently.
Expose the face and secure the specimen
Check that this dry specimen and its attachment are compatible with the intended vacuum route and that the specimen is secure. Face orientation affects which structures are accessible and the path of emitted signals. This conceptual check does not specify a drying or loading procedure.
Trace the complete electrical path
A conductive base or edge bridge can connect a conductive metal to the stub. Touching an insulating mineral at one edge does not ground its whole surface. A continuous conductive film must also reach a conductive contact; gaps or an isolated mount can break that route.
Coating is a decision with consequences
Gold can help charge control and electron contrast, while its film texture can mask fine detail and add Au X-rays. Carbon is often useful for elemental work, but it adds carbon and can absorb low-energy X-rays. No coating is universally correct. A suitable low-vacuum instrument can provide another route to charge control without making the specimen electrically conductive.
Read the image with its preparation record
The grayscale result and contribution bars are synthetic teaching evidence. Bars are neither an EDS spectrum nor elemental concentrations. Roughness, geometry, coating, detector conditions, contamination, and interaction volume can affect real results. A smooth-looking image alone does not establish composition or prove that native fine detail survived.
Model limits & scientific sources
Constructed SEM image and elemental contribution diagram. No measured spectrum, concentration, coating thickness, or instrument performance is predicted.
The model has no beam energy, dose, vacuum pressure, coating thickness, sputtering recipe, or drying instructions. A real preparation requires specimen-specific methods and instrument guidance.
The charge path is an idealised connectivity explanation. An edge contact does not make an insulator conductive; low-vacuum charge mitigation also does not establish that path.
Film granularity, coverage, charging, shadowing, and signal bars are authored comparisons. Their numerical drawing values are not measured probabilities, a quality score, or material predictions.
The assigned metal and mineral elements belong to the constructed specimens. Real elemental identification and quantification require actual X-ray evidence, suitable geometry, and corrections or standards.