Focused Ion Beam

Focused Ion Beam (FIB) is a type of electron microscope, which uses “focused ions” to scan over the sample. This tool is similar to a Scanning Electron Microscope, however since it uses massive ions (usually Ga+) for scanning, it allows for processing of the samples due to ion-material interactions, resulting in “ion milling” based applications.

Usually Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and SEM columns are together in one platform, so-called “dual-beam” or “multi-beam” systems, and hence ion and electron processing/imaging can be performed simultaneously.

Focused Ion Beam Services and Application Areas

Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technologies are used in multidisciplinary research and applications, for site-specific analysis, imaging, milling, deposition, micromachining and manipulation.

Focused Ion Beam services can be applied mostly on hard materials (metals, alloys, composites, ceramic materials, glass, multilayered devices) and rarely on soft materials (polymers, polymer composites) and biological tissues, considering the irradiation damage and artefacts caused by high energy ion bombardment on the samples.

Dual beam platforms, additionally equipped with precursor-based gas injection systems, micromanipulators and chemical analysis tools (EDS) serve as multi-functional tools for:

• Ultra-thin and uniform sample preparation for TEM
• Ultra-thin and uniform specimen and lamella preparation for TEM
• Ion beam slicing and electron beam imaging, in combination with EDS analysis on the cross-sections
• Site-specific microstructuring and nanostructuring
• Custom design microstructuring and nanostructuring
• Surface modification using gallium ion milling and/or carbon deposition
• Failure analysis
• Reverse engineering
• 3D volumetric data acquisition at nano-micron scale

Source: Meltem Sezen, Focused Ion Beams (FIB): Novel Methodologies and Recent Applications for Multidisciplinary Sciences

Technical Specifications and Limits of the FIB-SEM System at SUNUM

In the Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy Laboratory of SUNUM, a JEOL JIB 4601F MultiBeam Platform is installed with the components: Ga-FIB column, FEG-SEM column, JEOL Carbon GIS system, Omniprobe 300 Micromanipulator, Oxford X-MaxN EDS system.

This configuration is able to provide:

• Preparation of uniform TEM lamella below 100 nm thickness
• HR-SEM imaging (>10 nm resolution, depending on the sample) between 1-30 keV electron energies
• FIB processing (>50 nm resolution depending on the sample) at 30 keV ion energy and 1 pA-60 nA ion currents
• Ion beam patterning with basic shapes (line, square, circle) and pre-defined bitmap files
• Automated slice & view applications, manual reconstruction to 3D data
• Elemental identification of samples with EDS, starting from Boron in periodic table
• Custom designs upon request and the capabilities of the FIB-SEM system

SUNUM is highly skilled in FIB processing of a variety of materials and material systems, ranging from semiconductors to soft tissues owing to the experience and knowledge of the senior researchers and technical specialists who are leading FIB-based research globally.