Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful tool for the investigation of the microstructure of materials, providing crystallographic information and composition at the nanometer scale. For such studies, samples should be transparent to the electron beam. In this review, TEM sample preparation techniques for different classes of materials, such as metals and alloys, multilayered coatin...

In general the SEM sample preparation techniques are more or less similar to the metallographic sample preparation technique for optical microscopy, because both the microscopes reveals the surface topography of sample. In SEM a focussed beam of electrons scans over the specimen surface and the electrons emitted from the sample surface controls the brightness of the CRT spot which also scans th...

The recent development of Dual-BeamTM or Cross-BeamTM FIB systems has gradually taken over the traditional single beam FIB systems. A typical FIB column contains a liquid metal ion source that produces a finely focused Ga ion beam. The primary Ga ion beam is accelerated by 30-50 kV, and directed towards the features of interest on the specimen. The incident ion beam will sputter atoms from the ...