On the recrystallization of electrodeposited zinc during mechanical polishing to electron transparency

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 1106-1107
Author(s):  
L. A. Giannuzzi ◽  
P. R. Howell ◽  
H. W. Pickering ◽  
W. R. Bitler
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Bulk Material ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Tem Analysis ◽  
Sample Preparation Technique ◽  
Thin Foils ◽  
Recent Developments

A primary concern involving transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis is whether the electron transparent region under investigation is representative of the bulk material. TEM is frequently employed to examine the microstructure of electrodeposited materials due to their small grain size and high dislocation density. Previous work in this laboratory on palladium electrodeposits has shown that deformation twins and diffusion induced recrystallization may be induced during preparation of thin foils using both twin jet electropolishing and ion beam thinning. Recent developments in TEM sample preparation in the physical sciences include a procedure for the cross-section of heterogeneous layered materials which reduces or eliminates the need for ion milling. In this sample preparation technique, a tripod polisher device is used to mechanically polish the specimen to electron transparency. The purpose of this paper is to report on the influence of the tripod polisher sample preparation technique, on the microstructure of zinc electrodeposits.

Cutting-Edge Sample Preparation from FIB to Ar Concentrated Ion Beam Milling of Advanced Semiconductor Devices

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.S. Bonifacio ◽  
P. Nowakowski ◽  
R. Li ◽  
M.L. Ray ◽  
P.E. Fischione ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Semiconductor Devices ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Sample Preparation Technique

Abstract Fast and accurate examination from the bulk to the specific area of the defect in advanced semiconductor devices is critical in failure analysis. This work presents the use of Ar ion milling methods in combination with Ga focused ion beam (FIB) milling as a cutting-edge sample preparation technique from the bulk to specific areas by FIB lift-out without sample-preparation-induced artifacts. The result is an accurately delayered sample from which electron-transparent TEM specimens of less than 15 nm are obtained.

scholarly journals Having Your Cake and Eating It Too: A Procedure for Obtaining Plan View and Cross Section TEM Images from the Same Site

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.B. Irwin ◽  
A. Anciso ◽  
P.J. Jones ◽  
C. Patton
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Bulk Material ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Plan View ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Final Sample

Sample preparation for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is usually performed such that the final sample orientation is either a cross section or a plan view of the bulk material, as shown schematically in Figure 1. The object of any sample preparation technique, for either of these two orientations, is to thin a selected volume of the sample from its initial bulk state to electron transparency, ~ 100nm thick. In doing so, the final sample must be mechanically stable, vacuum compatible, and, most of all, unchanged from the initial bulk material. Many techniques have been used to achieve this goal: cleaving, sawing, mechanical polishing, chemical etching, ion milling, focused ion beam (FIB) milling, and many others.

A technique for preparing semiconductor cross sections for both TEM and SEM analysis

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 712-713
Author(s):  
Stanley J. Klepeis ◽  
J.P. Benedict ◽  
R.M Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Tem Analysis ◽  
Polished Cross Section ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Polished Side

The ability to prepare a cross-section of a specific semiconductor structure for both SEM and TEM analysis is vital in characterizing the smaller, more complex devices that are now being designed and manufactured. In the past, a unique sample was prepared for either SEM or TEM analysis of a structure. In choosing to do SEM, valuable and unique information was lost to TEM analysis. An alternative, the SEM examination of thinned TEM samples, was frequently made difficult by topographical artifacts introduced by mechanical polishing and lengthy ion-milling. Thus, the need to produce a TEM sample from a unique,cross-sectioned SEM sample has produced this sample preparation technique.The technique is divided into an SEM and a TEM sample preparation phase. The first four steps in the SEM phase: bulk reduction, cleaning, gluing and trimming produces a reinforced sample with the area of interest in the center of the sample. This sample is then mounted on a special SEM stud. The stud is inserted into an L-shaped holder and this holder is attached to the Klepeis polisher (see figs. 1 and 2). An SEM cross-section of the sample is then prepared by mechanically polishing the sample to the area of interest using the Klepeis polisher. The polished cross-section is cleaned and the SEM stud with the attached sample, is removed from the L-shaped holder. The stud is then inserted into the ion-miller and the sample is briefly milled (less than 2 minutes) on the polished side. The sample on the stud may then be carbon coated and placed in the SEM for analysis.

Comparison of Precision XTEM Specimen Preparation Techniques for Semiconductor Failure Analysis

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 357-358
Author(s):  
C. Amy Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Mechanical Polishing ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Tem Analysis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Preparation Techniques

The demand for TEM analysis in semiconductor failure analysis is rising sharply due to the shrinking size of devices. A well-prepared sample is a necessity for getting meaningful results. In the past decades, a significant amount of effort has been invested in improving sample preparation techniques for TEM specimens, especially precision cross-sectioning techniques. The most common methods of preparation are mechanical dimpling & ion milling, focused ion beam milling (FIBXTEM), and wedge mechanical polishing. Each precision XTEM technique has important advantages and limitations that must be considered for each sample.The concept for both dimpling & ion milling and wedge specimen preparation techniques is similar. Both techniques utilize mechanical polishing to remove the majority of the unwanted material, followed by ion milling to assist in final polishing or cleaning. Dimpling & ion milling produces the highest quality samples and is a relatively easy technique to master.

A Multi-Step Transmission Electron Microscopy Sample Preparation Technique for Cracked, Heavily Damaged, Brittle Materials

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1646-1653
Author(s):  
Claire V. Weiss Brennan ◽  
Scott D. Walck ◽  
Jeffrey J. Swab
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Brittle Materials ◽  
Ceramic Materials ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Multiphase Materials ◽  
Sample Preparation Technique ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Archaeological Materials

AbstractA new technique for the preparation of heavily cracked, heavily damaged, brittle materials for examination in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) is described in detail. In this study, cross-sectional TEM samples were prepared from indented silicon carbide (SiC) bulk ceramics, although this technique could also be applied to other brittle and/or multiphase materials. During TEM sample preparation, milling-induced damage must be minimized, since in studying deformation mechanisms, it would be difficult to distinguish deformation-induced cracking from cracking occurring due to the sample preparation. The samples were prepared using a site-specific, two-step ion milling sequence accompanied by epoxy vacuum infiltration into the cracks. This technique allows the heavily cracked, brittle ceramic material to stay intact during sample preparation and also helps preserve the true microstructure of the cracked area underneath the indent. Some preliminary TEM results are given and discussed in regards to deformation studies in ceramic materials. This sample preparation technique could be applied to other cracked and/or heavily damaged materials, including geological materials, archaeological materials, fatigued materials, and corrosion samples.

Cross-Section Tem Sample Preparation for Copper / Low-K Composite Stacks by Ion Milling

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 862-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Foran ◽  
F. Shaapur ◽  
V. Blaschke
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Process Development ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Tem Analysis ◽  
Composite Systems ◽  
Low Dielectric ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Low K

Sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been a source of speculation with regards to potential for the creation of artifacts which may confound data gleaned from TEM analysis. For semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) materials characterization, the most common sample preparatory methods are based on final thinning by ion beam milling. The latest shift towards Copper / low dielectric constant (k) composite systems in the semiconductor IC industry provides several challenges for TEM sample preparation resulting from differences in milling rates and materials properties for neighboring features.In conjunction with process development for integration of Cu / low-k materials, conducted at SEMATECH, we have systematically studied the effects of TEM sample preparation by ion milling in order to search for artifacts that could result from sample thinning procedures. For this purpose we have studied wafers with patterned copper lines isolated by a low-k polymer. One sample was stressed by thermal and electronic bias, while a second was subjected to only thermal stress.

Microstructural Origin of Superior Compressive Ductility of a Nanocrystalline Metal

2009 ◽  
Vol 633-634 ◽  
pp. 73-84
Author(s):  
Deng Pan ◽  
S. Kuwano ◽  
T. Fujita ◽  
M. W. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Grain Boundary ◽  
Grain Growth ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
Sample Preparation Technique

Ultra-large compressive plasticity at room temperature has recently been observed in electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel (nc-Ni) under micro-scale compression (Pan, Kuwano, Fujita and Chen: Nano Lett. Vol. 7 (2007), p. 2108). With aid of a TEM sample preparation technique employing focused ion beam (FIB), TEM observations on deformed nc-Ni evidenced deformation-induced microstructural evolution of nc-Ni at a variety of strain levels: Whilst the deformation increases, substantial grain growth is uncovered in the nc-Ni. No apparent ex situ evidence of intragranular dislocation activities is found in the deformed sample. As thermal diffusion plays an insignificant role in the deformation in nc-Ni at room temperature (~0.17Tm), this premium plasticity is achieved in accommodation with the grain-boundary-mediated deformation, with assistance of extensive grain growth that is mainly driven by high stresses at steady plastic flow.

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