Cryo Lift-Out (CryoLO)
Cryogenic in-situ TEM-lamella lift-out — a cryoMGS-EM microgripper cooled to LN₂ temperature while the MM3A-EM itself stays at room temperature.
One tip cold, one stage warm#
Site-specific TEM lamellae prepared in a cryo-FIB increasingly need to be lifted out in situ, at cryogenic temperature. The Cryo Liftout Package pairs an MM3A-EM with a cryoMGS-EM microgripper carrying an insulator and a thermal coupling to your microscope’s cryo shield or cryo stage. That coupling lets the gripper itself cool to LN₂ temperature while the MM3A-EM stays at room temperature — which also cuts the thermal load the cryo-FIB’s own cooling system has to carry. No water vapour or gas injection is needed, and lamellae transfer without ice contamination.
Tungsten arms, sub-nanometre steps#
The gripper arms are machined from tungsten probe tips and piezo-controlled to a step size below 1 nm, with custom-shaped tips available on request. The included iLO control software talks to the microscope directly, matching the manipulator’s speed of motion to whatever magnification you’re working at, and drives true Cartesian motion (X/Y from the microscope PC’s mouse, Z from a USB jog shuttle), with park-and-restore to recall a saved position. The package ships complete: MM3A-EM, cryoMGS-EM microgripper, mounting kit and iLO software.
Gallery
The cooled gripper approaching a milled trench, 50 µm field of view. 
Contact at 10 µm, then the freed lamella bridging the trench at 5 µm. 
The lamella lifted clear of the trench, 10 µm field of view. 
The transferred lamella under TEM — ultrastructure intact, no ice contamination.
Technical data
MM3A-EM micromanipulator
- Length
- 62.1 mm
- Width
- 20.4 mm
- Height
- 25.4 mm
- Resolution — A
- 0.5 nm (7 nrad)
- Resolution — B
- 0.2 nm (7 nrad)
- Resolution — C
- < 0.05 nm
- Lowest pressure
- 10⁻⁷ mbar
- Material
- Stainless steel, aluminium
cryoMGS-EM microgripper
- Total length
- 28 mm
- Tip length
- 5 mm
- Height
- 5 mm
- Gripper arm material
- Tungsten probe tips
- Piezo step size
- < 1 nm
- Gripping area
- (5–10 µm)²
- Resolution
- 20 nm
- Gripping force
- 5 – 5000 µN (variable)
- Max. span range
- 20 – 40 µm
- Temperature range
- 77 K – 353 K
Included accessories
- Control software
- iLO
- Mounting kit
- Included
See it run
Advantages
One tip cold, one stage warm
- cryoMGS-EM thermally coupled to the microscope's cryo shield or cryo stage, cooling to LN₂ temperature (down to 77 K)
- MM3A-EM carrying the gripper stays at room temperature, cutting the thermal load on your cooling system
- No water-vapour or gas injection required
- Transfers vitrified lamellae without ice contamination
Tungsten arms, sub-nanometre steps
- Gripper arms machined from tungsten probe tips, piezo-controlled to a step size below 1 nm
- (5–10 µm)² gripping area, variable gripping force from 5 to 5000 µN
- Span range of 20–40 µm
- Custom-shaped gripper tips available on request
iLO ties motion to the microscope
- Reads the microscope's magnification and matches manipulator speed to it automatically
- True Cartesian motion via the microscope PC's mouse for X/Y, a USB jog shuttle for Z
- Park-and-restore recalls a saved position on demand
- Ships with a mounting kit for fast setup and removal
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