Wei Kerui, Lindley Matthew, Liu Xuzhao, Haigh Sarah J, Xiao Ping, Withers Philip J, Mir Anamul Haq, Greaves Graeme, Martins João P, Lao Junquan, Zhong Xiangli
Henry Royce Institute, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Microsc Microanal. 2025 May 9;31(3). doi: 10.1093/mam/ozaf029.
Focused ion beam (FIB) systems have revolutionized sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), enabling precise and site-specific material analysis. However, the conventional ion beam-induced deposition (IBID) approach to preparing FIB samples can lead to contamination effects that can compromise the quality of TEM data acquisition. This study introduces an innovative FIB method for connecting TEM lamellae to support grids via redeposition, avoiding the contamination issue. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique through observations of a SiC phase within tristructural-isotropic particles during in situ high-temperature and irradiation TEM experiments, establishing an improved process for characterizing material behaviors during exposure to their industrially relevant environmental conditions.
