QUANTIFOIL is a perforated support foil with pre-defined hole size, shape and arrangement. It has advantages in electron microscopy (EM) or low-energy electron point source (LEEPS) microscopy when compared with conventional holey film.
QUANTIFOIL with circular holes is used in cryo-electron tomographic reconstruction. The roundness of the holes is advantageous with respect to the formation of an ice layer of constant thickness. The whole size chosen depends on the magnification used, and on whether or not one wishes to include support film in the image. Assessment of the image quality is easier when foil is included in the picture, because the power spectrum of a foil is stronger than that of unsupported ice.