Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik

MM 17: Topical Session TEM V

MM 17.4: Talk

Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 15:00–15:15, IFW A

FIB Target preparation for 20 kV T(S)EM - A method for obtaining ultra-thin lamellas — •Lorenz Lechner, Johannes Biskupek, and Ute Kaiser — Center for Electron Microscopy, Materials Science Group, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

Recently, scientists have rediscovered the advantages of using low energies in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It dramatically reduces knock-on damage for imaging low-Z number material and enables electron energy loss spectroscopy up to very high energy losses with exceptionally low background noise. Alas, low voltage TEM requires extremely thin specimens free of preparation artifacts. Conventional focused ion beam (FIB) preparation methods cannot be employed to create high quality specimens much thinner than 25 nm. We have developed a new method for in-situ target preparation of ultra-thin TEM lamellas by FIB milling. With this method we are able to routinely obtain large area co-planar lamellas thinner than 10 nm. The resulting specimens are suitable for low kV TEM as well as transmission scanning electron microscopy (tSEM). We have demonstrated atomic resolution using Cs-corrected TEM at 20 kV on a so prepared Si specimen only 4 nm thick.