TEM Sample Preparation

1) FIB cutting:

Instruments: FIB - Focused Ion Beam (HITACHI FB2000A)

2) Silicon sample preparation using conventional polishing/mechanical polishing:

Table*, Correspondence between Si wafer thickness and color polishing with dimpler

*Reference: McCaffrey, J.P., Sullivan, B.T., Fraser, J.W. and Callahan, D.L., 1996. Use of transmitted color to calibrate the thickness of silicon samples. Micron 27 6, pp. 407–411.

Procedure example:

Cross-sectional TEM specimens were prepared by dimpling both sides of 70 µm-thick disks, until the central area thickness was in the range of 5 – 10 µm, and then polishing with a 3.5 keV argon beam until perforation.

3) Sandwiched face-to-face layered structures:

A technique is described for the preparation of transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional samples of pyrolytical carbon layers deposited on polycrystalline boron nitride substrates. To solve the problem of different abrasion rates of C and BN a filler material, Si wafers, has been bonded to both sides of the pre-thinned BN substrate. Correspondence between color and thickness of Si wafers facilitates controlled sample thickness reduction during dimpling. The samples prepared by this technique even without ion milling are thin enough for HRTEM studies.

Figure: Light micrographs of the prepared TEM sample. The initial disc was dimpled up to a small hole that gave electron transparent areas for TEM observations: (a) reflected light; and (b) transmitted light, correspondingly.

Reference: B. Reznik and S. Kalhöfer, Micron, Volume 33, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 105-109.

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