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TEM cross‐section preparation with minimal ion milling time
Author(s) -
SCOTT C. P.,
CRAVEN A. J.,
HATTO P.,
DAVIES C.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2818.1996.139420.x
Subject(s) - substrate (aquarium) , sputtering , materials science , microanalysis , ion , etching (microfabrication) , cross section (physics) , thinning , nanotechnology , composite material , thin film , chemistry , layer (electronics) , physics , ecology , oceanography , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , geology , biology
The production of high quality thin film TEM cross‐sections suitable for microanalysis is often a difficult and time‐consuming task. This is particularly so in cases where there exists a large difference between the sputtering rate of the film and that of the substrate. The problem is further exacerbated when the levels of internal stress in the film are high enough to cause the substrate to distort during the thinning process. This paper describes some modifications to existing techniques which allow a greater degree of mechanical thinning prior to the ion etching stage. Consequently, ion milling times are drastically reduced, typically by a factor of at least 5 and by as much as 25 in some cases.