Sample holder and electron microscope

A sample holder that holds an environment cell enclosing a sample, which is an observation target by an electron microscope, the sample holder comprising:

• a main body provided with a recess capable of accommodating the environment cell;
• a lid that fixes the environment cell accommodated in the recess;
• and
• a light irradiation unit that irradiates the sample with light,
• wherein:
• openings are provided to a bottom surface of the recess of the main body and to the lid, respectively,
• the environment cell is formed in combination of a first silicon chip and a second silicon chip, each including a membrane and a frame supporting the membrane, the frame being provided on the opening, in which a space enclosing the sample between the membrane of the first silicon chip and the membrane of the second silicon chip, and
• an opening of the lid, an opening of the first silicon chip, an opening of the second silicon chip, and an opening of the main body are located so as to overlap with each other along an optical axis of an electron beam of the electron microscope, the second silicon chip is arranged on the main body via a sealing material, the lid is fixed to the first silicon chip and the main body via sealing materials respectively and
• the light irradiation unit includes a light emitting element is placed at a position where the opening of the first silicon chip or the opening of the second silicon chip is allowed to be irradiated with light.