SiO2 based transmission electron microscope (TEM) micro grid is fabricated and used for the synthesis and transfer-free TEM observation of singie-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs).This avoids the contamination and information loss during the sample preparation.We start with double-sided polished (100) silicon wafers with 200nm thermally grown silicon dioxide layer on each side, and remove the Si underlayer by wet and dry etching.SWNTs grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) suspend across etched slits or lay on SiO2 thin film where TEM accelerating electron beam can penetrate.