7 General Maintenance
To Clean the EI HES
186 5977B Series MSD Operating Manual
4 Abrasively clean the surfaces that contact the sample or ion beam.
Use an abrasive slurry of alumina powder and reagent-grade methanol on a
cotton swab. Use enough force to remove all discolorations. Polishing the
parts is not necessary; small scratches will not harm performance. Also,
abrasively clean the discolorations where electrons from the filaments
enter the source body.
5 Rinse away all abrasive residue with reagent-grade methanol.
Ensure all abrasive residue is rinsed away before ultrasonic cleaning. If the
methanol becomes cloudy or contains visible particles, rinse again.
6 Separate the parts that were abrasively cleaned from the parts that were not
abrasively cleaned.
7 Ultrasonically clean the parts (each group separately) for 15 minutes in each
of the following solvents:
• Methylene chloride (reagent-grade)
• Acetone (reagent-grade)
• Methanol (reagent-grade)
8 Place the parts in a clean beaker. Loosely cover the beaker with clean
aluminum foil (dull side down).
9 Dry the cleaned parts in an oven at 100°C for 5–6 minutes.
Always wear clean gloves to prevent contamination when working in the
analyzer chamber.
All of these solvents are hazardous. Work in a fume hood, and take all
appropriate precautions.