Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 July 2020
The use of focused ion beams (FIB) to prepare site specific specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been well documented. The 5 to 7 nm resolution on the latest FIB instruments has enhanced the ability to locate and expose features of interest. The use of the lift-out technique of FIB specimen preparation removes the need for prior thinning of the sample for TEM analysis and permits the study of materials that were difficult or impossible to do previously. Use of high current (10 nA) FIB instruments makes specimen preparation possible in less than one hour; automatic operation of FIB instruments will further reduce this time. After milling in the FIB, specimens are micromanipulated in air onto a 3 mm diameter TEM sample grid coated with carbon. The ability to analyze lift-out specimens using other analytical techniques that can take advantage of this site specific capability was previously suggested.