Patent ID: 8853648

Claim:
A sample holder comprising: a sample table to which a sample piece picked out of a sample for an ion beam irradiation can be fixed, a rotation mechanism which rotates said sample table in a desired direction along two axes perpendicular to one another, and a cooling source for cooling said sample table, wherein: the sample holder is structurally configured to be installed to both of an ion beam device and a transmission electron microscope, the sample holder includes a movable first heat transfer material which thermally connects said sample table to the cooling source and a second heat transfer material which conducts heat in a direction different from a cooling source side, which provides a temperature gradient in the vicinity of the sample such that a portion of the second heat transfer material that is farthest from the sample has a higher temperature than a portion of the second heat transfer material that is closest to the sample and wherein the portion of the second heat transfer material that is closest to the sample has a temperature lower than that of the sample, and said sample table and said first heat transfer material are further configured to be thermally isolated and enclosed within the sample holder by a removable shutter member.