FIB-shield: a structure to safely transfer and precisely mount beam-sensitive TEM specimens under focused ion beam

Focused ion beam (FIB) has been adopted extensively for transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample preparation during the past decades. However, ion beam- and deposition-induced damage during transferring and mounting of the sample cannot be effectively avoided, limiting the application of FIB in ion-beam illumination-sensitive samples. A transferring device called the FIB shield is designed and fabricated to greatly reduce the damage and contamination of the sample during transfer and mounting under Ga+ beam imaging, milling and Pt deposition. Nearly damage-free transfer and precise positioning and attachment of beam-sensitive in situ TEM nanoindentation samples are achieved. The effectiveness of the shielding plate to block Ga+ radiation damage during Ga+ beam imaging and milling and that of the buffer region to alleviate sputtering damage during Pt deposition are verified by corresponding experiments.

Automated summary

The use of ion beam in TEM sample preparation is limited by the damage caused during transfer and mounting. To address this issue, a FIB shield has been designed to reduce the damage and contamination during transfer and mounting. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the shield.