Minenkov Alexey, Šantić Natalija, Truglas Tia, Aberl Johannes, Vukušić Lada, Brehm Moritz, Groiss Heiko
Christian Doppler Laboratory for Nanoscale Phase Transformations, Center for Surface and Nanoanalytics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Straße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria.
Tietz Video and Image Processing Systems GmbH, Eremitenweg 1, 82131 Gauting, Germany.
MRS Bull. 2022;47(4):359-370. doi: 10.1557/s43577-021-00255-5. Epub 2022 Mar 7.
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful tool for advanced material characterization. It allows real-time observation of structural evolution at the atomic level while applying different stimuli such as heat. However, the validity of analysis strongly depends on the quality of the specimen, which has to be prepared by thinning the bulk material to electron transparency while maintaining the pristine properties. To address this challenge, a novel method of TEM samples preparation in plan-view geometry was elaborated based on the combination of the wedge polishing technique and an enhanced focused ion beam (FIB) workflow. It involves primary mechanical thinning of a broad sample area from the backside followed by FIB-assisted installation on the MEMS-based sample carrier. The complete step-by-step guide is provided, and the method's concept is discussed in detail making it easy to follow and adapt for diverse equipment. The presented approach opens the world of TEM heating experiments for a vast variety of fragile materials. The principle and significant advantage of the proposed method are demonstrated by new insights into the stability and thermal-induced strain relaxation of Ge Stranski-Krastanov islands on Si during TEM heating.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1557/s43577-021-00255-5.
透射电子显微镜（TEM）是用于先进材料表征的强大工具。它允许在施加不同刺激（如热）时在原子水平实时观察结构演变。然而，分析的有效性很大程度上取决于样品的质量，样品必须通过将块状材料减薄至电子透明同时保持原始特性来制备。为应对这一挑战，基于楔形抛光技术和增强型聚焦离子束（FIB）工作流程的组合，精心设计了一种用于平面视图几何形状的TEM样品制备新方法。它包括从背面初步机械减薄宽样品区域，然后通过FIB辅助安装在基于MEMS的样品载体上。提供了完整的分步指南，并详细讨论了该方法的概念，使其易于遵循并适用于各种设备。所提出的方法为各种易碎材料开启了TEM加热实验的世界。通过对TEM加热过程中Si上Ge Stranski-Krastanov岛的稳定性和热致应变弛豫的新见解，证明了所提出方法的原理和显著优势。
在线版本包含可在10.1557/s43577-021-00255-5获取的补充材料。
