The best way to attach the sample to the sample holder?

What is the best way to attach the sample to the sample holder used in a VSM?

One should judge the application to determine the best way to attach a sample. In the case of measurements performed at room temperature, a sample can often be held in the sample holder with a screw nut – you put a sample in, tighten the nut, and it stays there. However, if you have a thin film to be attached to either a side- or bottom-mount sample holder, the sample can be secured to the sample substrate with some type of adhesive, such as glue or even vacuum grease. But vacuum grease may not work for a heavier sample. For heavier thin film samples, Super Glue can be used. The glue, when it dries, is very easy to peel off from a holder, allowing the sample to be removed easily from the holder at end of an experiment. Also, Super Glue does not have magnetic moment. However, when high or low temperatures are involved, it’s a little bit more complicated. For high-temperature measurement applications, it’s best to use a ceramic cement. For low-temperature applications, GE varnish (available from Lake Shore as VGE-7031 varnish) is the preferred adhesive because it has no signal at any temperatures and it’s easy to dissolve with acetone when cleaning the sample and holder after an experiment.