TOPOGRAPHICALLY STRUCTURED SUPPORT FOR ELECTRON CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

It is therefore the objective of the present invention to provide a sample support that enables for example sub-micro range crystals to be deposited on the sample support in an arbitrary orientation although the crystals might have a preferred orientation.This objective is achieved according to the present invention by a sample support for samples in the submicron range in imaging and diffraction techniques, comprising a topographically modulated surface; said surface comprising ridge-like and terrace-like structures having dimensions in the order of magnitude to the size of the submicron-sized sample.Therefore, the topographical structure of ridge-like and terrace like section prevents the 3D crystalline probes from the deposition in a preferred direction due to the shape of the crystal structure on the probe support.