California Measurements offers samplers designed for collecting particles for analysis using scanning electron microscopy (S.E.M.), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (E.D.X.S.), and other microanalytical techniques. They have a patented feature of collecting samples directly on standard electron microscope sample holders embedded in the impactor stages. After sample collection these holders can be inserted directly into the microscope for analysis. The microscopist no longer has to spend much time in preparing samples for analysis, and the analysis cost is reduced.
In addition, samples are collected in small concentrated spots so that they can be easily located under high magnification during analysis. The time required to collect enough samples is reduced to a range of minutes under low flow rates of a few liters per minute. Moreover, the type of substrate material can be selected to match the analytical requirements of other microanalytical techniques such as XRF, TEM, FTIR, and GC/MS. These samplers are highly compact and portable. They have proven to be invaluable tools for computer disk drive and clean room air particle contamination analysis and for identification of particles in ambient air and the upper atmospheres.