Ultrathin specimen preparation by a low-energy Ar-ion milling method.

Improved focused ion beam target preparation of (S)TEM specimen--a method for obtaining ultrathin lamellae.

Specimen quality is vital to (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations. In particular, thin specimens are required to obtain excellent high-resolution TEM images. Conventional focused ion beam (FIB) preparation methods cannot be employed to reliably create high quality specimens much thinner than 20 nm. We have developed a method for in situ target preparation of ultrathi...

Improving High Resolution TEM Images using Low Energy Ion Milling

Ion beam milling has become a widespread specimen preparation technique for non-biological materials over the last two decades, particularly for cross-sectional and plan-view transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimens. The basic principle of ion milling involves bombarding a specimen with energetic ions or neutral atoms acclerated and formed into a tightly focused ion beam. Material is sp...

Focused high- and low-energy ion milling for TEM specimen preparation

A technique for the preparation of cross-sectional TEM samples of ZnSe/GaAs heterostructures which eliminates process-induced defects.

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation of ZnSe/GaAs epitaxial films is investigated. Conventional argon ion milling is shown to produce a high density (approximately 5-8 x 10(11)/cm2) of small (diameter approximately 60-80 A) extended defects (stacking faults, microtwins, double positioning twins, etc.). In addition, transmission electron diffraction results i...

Ultra-Sharpening of Diamond Stylus by 500 eV O+/O2 + Ion Beam Machining without Facet and Ripple Formation

The price of single point diamond tools with a sharp tip is very high due to complex machining process and highly expensive machining equipments. Yet, the performance is not quite satisfactory. In this paper, we have presented a very simple and cost effective machining process for the sharpening and polishing of diamond stylus using low energy reactive ion beam machining (RIBM). In our method, ...