Perkin-Elmer MultiScope System, User Reference

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74 . MultiScope System Microscope User's Reference
Slicing Samples from Solids
Cutting a w edge of sample
If a solid sample is too thick to give good spectra, cutting a wedge-shaped piece
from its edge produces a thin sample while destroying very little of the original.
This technique can be used with laminates, plastics, films, paint chips, paper.
To cut a wedge-shaped piece from a relatively thick sample:

Hold the sample in tweezers as you slice a thin wedge from it with a razor
blade. Taper the wedge to as thin a slice as possible.
To cut a wedge-shaped piece from a relatively thin sample:
1. Place the sample between two offset glass slides.
Allow a triangular portion of the sample to protrude as shown on the left in
Figure 14.
Figure 14 Cutting a Wedge-Shaped Sample
2. Run a razor blade or the roller knife along the edge of the upper slide.
The triangular piece of the sample is sliced off, giving a wedge-shaped
sample.
3. To mount the sample, rotate it as shown on the right in Figure 14. Position it
under the microscope so that the infrared beam goes through the thin end of
the wedge (circled in Figure 14).