Kwon Yena, An Byeong-Seon, Shin Yeon-Ju, Yang Cheol-Woong
School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea.
Cooperative Center for Research Facilities, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea.
Appl Microsc. 2020 Oct 14;50(1):22. doi: 10.1186/s42649-020-00043-6.
In-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) holders that employ a chip-type specimen stage have been widely utilized in recent years. The specimen on the microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based chip is commonly prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) milling and ex-situ lift-out (EXLO). However, the FIB-milled thin-foil specimens are inevitably contaminated with Ga ions. When these specimens are heated for real time observation, the Ga ions influence the reaction or aggregate in the protection layer. An effective method of removing the Ga residue by Ar ion milling within FIB system was explored in this study. However, the Ga residue remained in the thin-foil specimen that was extracted by EXLO from the trench after the conduct of Ar ion milling. To address this drawback, the thin-foil specimen was attached to an FIB lift-out grid, subjected to Ar ion milling, and subsequently transferred to an MEMS-based chip by EXLO. The removal of the Ga residue was confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy.
近年来，采用芯片型样品台的原位透射电子显微镜（TEM）支架得到了广泛应用。基于微机电系统（MEMS）芯片上的样品通常通过聚焦离子束（FIB）铣削和非原位剥离（EXLO）制备。然而，FIB铣削的薄箔样品不可避免地会被Ga离子污染。当这些样品被加热进行实时观察时，Ga离子会影响保护层中的反应或聚集。本研究探索了一种在FIB系统内通过Ar离子铣削去除Ga残留的有效方法。然而，在进行Ar离子铣削后，通过EXLO从沟槽中提取的薄箔样品中仍残留有Ga。为了解决这一缺点，将薄箔样品附着到FIB剥离网格上，进行Ar离子铣削，随后通过EXLO转移到基于MEMS的芯片上。通过能量色散光谱证实了Ga残留的去除。
