CRYOGENIC ULTRA-HIGH VACUUM SUITCASE

The present invention relates to a transportable device, for the transport and transfer of a sample under ultra-high vacuum conditions and at low temperature, comprising a vacuum chamber, a cooling system, a transfer rod by means of which the sample positon can be adjusted, a valve by means of which the chamber can be opened or closed and attached to another vacuum apparatus, a pump designed to maintain in the chamber a pressure below 10−9 mbar all the time a sample is inside the chamber and/or all the time the sample is being transferred, a cooling shield defining a volume inside the chamber in which the sample is kept during transport, wherein the cooling shield (106) is thermally contacted to the cooling system, a sample holder removably attached to the transfer rod and configured to carry the sample during transport, a cooling block thermally contacted to the cooling shield, wherein the cooling block and the sample holder are configured such that they can be brought in thermal contact inside the volume defined by the cooling shield, wherein the cooling system is configured to be able cool the cooling shield to a temperature below 80 K. and wherein the thermal contacts between the cooling shield and the cooling block and/or between the cooling block and the sample holder are configured such that the sample is kept at a temperature higher than the cooling shield all the time the temperature of the cooling shield is lower titan the temperature of the chamber. The present invention relates also to the use of a hexapod port aligner for the transfer of a sample front a vacuum transport device to an electron microscope, especially a transmission electron microscope.