Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-2l2gl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-25T14:31:57.082Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Method for Cross-sectional Thin Specimen Preparation from a Specific Site Using a Combination of a Focused Ion Beam System and Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscope and Its Application to the Characterization of a Precipitate in a Steel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2002

Toshie Yaguchi ,
Hiroaki Matsumoto ,
Takeo Kamino ,
Tohru Ishitani  and
Ryoichi Urao
Toshie Yaguchi*
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, Ibaraki University, Narusawa-cho, Hitachi, Ibaraki 316-0031, Japan Techno Research Laboratory, Hitachi Science Systems, Ltd., 882 Ichige, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki-ken 312-8504, Japan
Hiroaki Matsumoto
Affiliation:
Techno Research Laboratory, Hitachi Science Systems, Ltd., 882 Ichige, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki-ken 312-8504, Japan
Takeo Kamino
Affiliation:
Techno Research Laboratory, Hitachi Science Systems, Ltd., 882 Ichige, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki-ken 312-8504, Japan
Tohru Ishitani
Affiliation:
Instrument Division, Hitachi Ltd., 882 Hitachinaka, Ibaraki 312-8504, Japan
Ryoichi Urao
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, Ibaraki University, Narusawa-cho, Hitachi, Ibaraki 316-0031, Japan
*
*Corresponding author
Get access

Abstract

In this study, we discuss a method for cross-sectional thin specimen preparation from a specific site using a combination of a focused ion beam (FIB) system and an intermediate voltage transmission electron microscope (TEM). A FIB-TEM compatible specimen holder was newly developed for the method. The thinning of the specimen using the FIB system and the observation of inside structure of the ion milled area in a TEM to localize a specific site were alternately carried out. The TEM fitted with both scanning transmitted electron detector and secondary electron detector enabled us to localize the specific site in a halfway milled specimen with the positional accuracy of better than 0.1 µm. The method was applied to the characterization of a precipitate in a steel. A submicron large precipitate was thinned exactly at its center for the characterization by a high-resolution electron microscopy and an elemental mapping.

Keywords

cross-sectional thin specimen preparationfocused ion beam systemscanning transmitted electron imagesecondary electron imageprecipitatehigh-resolution transmission electron microscopy
Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , May 2001 , pp. 287 - 291
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)