Avoiding Dendrite Formation by Confining Lithium Deposition Underneath Li-Sn Coatings

<p>The use of interfacial layers to stabilize the lithium surface is a popular research direction for improving the morphology of deposited lithium and suppressing lithium dendrite formation. This work considers a different approach to controlling dendrite formation where lithium is plated underneath an interfacial coating. In the present research, a Li-Sn intermetallic was chosen as a model system due to its lithium-rich intermetallic phases and high Li diffusivity. These coatings also exhibit a significantly higher Li exchange current than bare Li thus leading to better charge transfer kinetics. The exchange current is instrumental in determining whether lithium deposition occurs above or below the Li-Sn coating. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and cryogenic focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy were used to identify the features associated with Li deposition. Atomic scale simulations provide insight as to the adsorption energies determining the deposition of lithium below the Li-Sn coating. </p>

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Fuel-Matrix Chemical Interaction between U-7wt.%Mo Alloy and Mg

Defect and Diffusion Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/ddf.333.199 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 333 ◽

pp. 199-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

K. Huang ◽

H. Heinrich ◽

D.D. Keiser ◽

Yong Ho Sohn

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Chemical Interaction ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Equilibrium Phase ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Inert Matrix ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Test Reactor

A solid-to-solid, U-7wt.%Mo vs. Mg diffusion couple was assembled and annealed at 550°C for 96 hours. Themicrostructurein the interdiffusion zone and the development of concentration profiles were examined via scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. A TEM specimen was prepared at the interface between U-7wt.%Mo andMgusing focused ion beam in-situ lift-out. The U-7wt.%Mo alloy was bonded well tothe Mg at the atomic scale, without any evidence of oxidation, cracks or pores.Despite the good bonding, very little or negligible interdiffusion was observed.This is consistent with the expectation based on negligible solubilities according to the equilibrium phase diagrams. Along with other desirableproperties, Mgis a potential inert matrix or barrier materialfor U-Mo fuel alloy systembeing developed forthe Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program.

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Site-Specific Preparation of Intact Solid–Liquid Interfaces by Label-Free In Situ Localization and Cryo-Focused Ion Beam Lift-Out

Microscopy and Microanalysis ◽

10.1017/s1431927616011892 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 1338-1349 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Michael J. Zachman ◽

Emily Asenath-Smith ◽

Lara A. Estroff ◽

Lena F. Kourkoutis

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Chemical Analysis ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Milling Process ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Liquid Interfaces ◽

Label Free ◽

Solid Liquid

AbstractScanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) allows atomic scale characterization of solid–solid interfaces, but has seen limited applications to solid–liquid interfaces due to the volatility of liquids in the microscope vacuum. Although cryo-electron microscopy is routinely used to characterize hydrated samples stabilized by rapid freezing, sample thinning is required to access the internal interfaces of thicker specimens. Here, we adapt cryo-focused ion beam (FIB) “lift-out,” a technique recently developed for biological specimens, to prepare intact internal solid–liquid interfaces for high-resolution structural and chemical analysis by cryo-STEM. To guide the milling process we introduce a label-free in situ method of localizing subsurface structures in suitable materials by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Monte Carlo simulations are performed to evaluate the depth-probing capability of the technique, and show good qualitative agreement with experiment. We also detail procedures to produce homogeneously thin lamellae, which enable nanoscale structural, elemental, and chemical analysis of intact solid–liquid interfaces by analytical cryo-STEM. This work demonstrates the potential of cryo-FIB lift-out and cryo-STEM for understanding physical and chemical processes at solid–liquid interfaces.

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TEM Sample Preparation Tricks for Advanced DRAMs

ISTFA 2015: Conference Proceedings from the 41st International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa2015p0318 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Ching Shan Sung ◽

Hsiu Ting Lee ◽

Jian Shing Luo

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Integrated Circuit ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Tem Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Characterization Of Materials

Abstract Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) plays an important role in the structural analysis and characterization of materials for process evaluation and failure analysis in the integrated circuit (IC) industry as device shrinkage continues. It is well known that a high quality TEM sample is one of the keys which enables to facilitate successful TEM analysis. This paper demonstrates a few examples to show the tricks on positioning, protection deposition, sample dicing, and focused ion beam milling of the TEM sample preparation for advanced DRAMs. The micro-structures of the devices and samples architectures were observed by using cross sectional transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. Following these tricks can help readers to prepare TEM samples with higher quality and efficiency.

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Fin Level Defect Isolation Inside a FinFET Using Electron Beam Alteration of Current Flow

ISTFA 2017: Conference Proceedings from the 43rd International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa2017p0473 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

H.J. Ryu ◽

A.B. Shah ◽

Y. Wang ◽

W.-H. Chuang ◽

T. Tong

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Electron Beam ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Current Flow ◽

Ion Beam ◽

The Body ◽

Complete Understanding ◽

Root Cause ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Defect Isolation

Abstract When failure analysis is performed on a circuit composed of FinFETs, the degree of defect isolation, in some cases, requires isolation to the fin level inside the problematic FinFET for complete understanding of root cause. This work shows successful application of electron beam alteration of current flow combined with nanoprobing for precise isolation of a defect down to fin level. To understand the mechanism of the leakage, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) slice was made along the leaky drain contact (perpendicular to fin direction) by focused ion beam thinning and lift-out. TEM image shows contact and fin. Stacking fault was found in the body of the silicon fin highlighted by the technique described in this paper.

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Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Specimen Preparation Technique using Focused Ion Beam (FIB): Application to Material Characterization of Chemical Vapor Deposition of Tungsten (W) and Tungsten Silicides (WSix)

ISTFA 1997: Conference Proceedings from the 23rd International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa1997p0237 ◽

1997 ◽

Author(s):

K. Doong ◽

J.-M. Fu ◽

Y.-C. Huang

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽

Vapor Deposition ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Chemical Vapor ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Preparation Technique ◽

Transmission Electron

Abstract The specimen preparation technique using focused ion beam (FIB) to generate cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) samples of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Tungsten-plug (W-plug) and Tungsten Silicides (WSix) was studied. Using the combination method including two axes tilting[l], gas enhanced focused ion beam milling[2] and sacrificial metal coating on both sides of electron transmission membrane[3], it was possible to prepare a sample with minimal thickness (less than 1000 A) to get high spatial resolution in TEM observation. Based on this novel thinning technique, some applications such as XTEM observation of W-plug with different aspect ratio (I - 6), and the grain structure of CVD W-plug and CVD WSix were done. Also the problems and artifacts of XTEM sample preparation of high Z-factor material such as CVD W-plug and CVD WSix were given and the ways to avoid or minimize them were suggested.

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A Methodology to Reduce Ion Beam Induced Damage in TEM Specimens Prepared by FIB

ISTFA 2002: Conference Proceedings from the 28th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa2002p0313 ◽

2002 ◽

Author(s):

Chin Kai Liu ◽

Chi Jen. Chen ◽

Jeh Yan.Chiou ◽

David Su

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Integrated Circuit ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Tem Analysis ◽

Sensitive Issue ◽

Transmission Electron

Abstract Focused ion beam (FIB) has become a useful tool in the Integrated Circuit (IC) industry, It is playing an important role in Failure Analysis (FA), circuit repair and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) specimen preparation. In particular, preparation of TEM samples using FIB has become popular within the last ten years [1]; the progress in this field is well documented. Given the usefulness of FIB, “Artifact” however is a very sensitive issue in TEM inspections. The ability to identify those artifacts in TEM analysis is an important as to understanding the significance of pictures In this paper, we will describe how to measure the damages introduced by FIB sample preparation and introduce a better way to prevent such kind of artifacts.

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BiCMOS Die Sort Yield Improvement from Isolation of a Localized Defect Mechanism and Precision TEM Cross Section

ISTFA 1997: Conference Proceedings from the 23rd International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa1997p0321 ◽

1997 ◽

Author(s):

J. Douglass ◽

T. D. Myers ◽

F. Tsai ◽

R. Ketcheson ◽

J. Errett

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Cross Section ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Yield Loss ◽

Process Analysis ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Yield Improvement ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Defect Mechanism ◽

Water Residue

Abstract This paper describes how the authors used a combination of focused ion beam (FIB) microprobing, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and data and process analysis to determine that localized water residue was causing a 6% yield loss at die sort.

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Protocol for preparation of heterogeneous biological samples for 3D electron microscopy: a case study for insects

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83936-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexey A. Polilov ◽

Anastasia A. Makarova ◽

Song Pang ◽

C. Shan Xu ◽

Harald Hess

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Biological Samples ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Entire Volume ◽

Simple Protocol ◽

3D Electron Microscopy ◽

3D Em

AbstractModern morphological and structural studies are coming to a new level by incorporating the latest methods of three-dimensional electron microscopy (3D-EM). One of the key problems for the wide usage of these methods is posed by difficulties with sample preparation, since the methods work poorly with heterogeneous (consisting of tissues different in structure and in chemical composition) samples and require expensive equipment and usually much time. We have developed a simple protocol allows preparing heterogeneous biological samples suitable for 3D-EM in a laboratory that has a standard supply of equipment and reagents for electron microscopy. This protocol, combined with focused ion-beam scanning electron microscopy, makes it possible to study 3D ultrastructure of complex biological samples, e.g., whole insect heads, over their entire volume at the cellular and subcellular levels. The protocol provides new opportunities for many areas of study, including connectomics.

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