Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Recent Advances in Focused Ion Beam Technology and Applications

Published

Author(s)

Nabil Bassim, Keana Scott, Lucille A. Giannuzzi

Abstract

Focused ion beam (FIB) microscopes are extremely versatile and powerful instruments for materials research. These microscopes, when coupled in a system with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), offer the opportunity for novel sample imaging, sectioning, specimen preparation, 3-dimensional nano- to macro-scale tomography, and high resolution rapid prototyping. The ability to characterize and create materials features in a site-specific manner at nanoscale resolution has provided key insights into many materials systems. The advent of novel instrumentation such as new ion sources which encompass more and more of the periodic table, in situ test harnesses such as cryogenic sample holders for sensitive material analyses, novel detector configurations for 3D structural, chemical and ion contrast characterization, and robust and versatile process automation capabilities are exciting advances for many fields of materials research.
Citation
Mrs Bulletin
Volume
39

Keywords

focused ion beam, scanning electron microscopy, FIB-SEM, lithography, ion sources, ion-solid interaction, specimen preparation, 3D tomography, 3D microanalysis

Citation

Bassim, N. , Scott, K. and Giannuzzi, L. (2014), Recent Advances in Focused Ion Beam Technology and Applications, Mrs Bulletin, [online], https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2014.52 (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created April 10, 2014, Updated October 12, 2021