Application of focused ion beam lift-out specimen preparation to TEM, SEM, STEM, AES, and SIMS analysis

Commercially available Focused Ion Bean (FIB) workstations with spatial resolution of 5 to 7 nm can prepare specimens with excellent lateral resolution. This capability has been extensively utilized by the semiconductor industry to obtain materials characterization from continually smaller areas. The FIB has been generally adopted as a preparation tool for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The ability to prepare site specific specimens that can be removed from the bulk of a sample provides enhanced SEM and TEM analyses and new approaches for other analytical tools.