title: An accurate temperature monitoring device for Balzers rotary cold tables.
abstract: In the Balzers rotary cold table, the recording thermocouple is located 45 mm below the specimen stage. As a result, there is inconsistency between the temperature indicated by the thermocouple gauge and the actual temperature of the specimen carrier. This inconsistency is most notable and can lead to problems when the cold table temperature is changed, such as during the procedure when fracturing at one temperature is followed by etching at a higher temperature. In this article, we describe modifications to the Balzers rotary cold table that permit the constant measurement of actual specimen temperature in the stationary, off, and rotating positions. The changes involve the use of a miniature temperature-sensing diode (TFD-Omega), mounted on the cradle that accepts standard counterflow, rapid-loading specimen stages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030.
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: VanWinkle
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Graham
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005614:Freeze Fracturing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013696:Temperature