Article Robust Preparation of Sub‐20‐nm‐Thin Lamellae for Aberration‐Corrected Electron Microscopy

Hideyo Tsurusawa ORCID ; Jun Uzuhashi SAMURAI ORCID ; Yusuke Kozuka SAMURAI ORCID ; Koji Kimoto SAMURAI ORCID ; Tadakatsu Ohkubo SAMURAI ORCID

Small Methods - 2024 - Tsurusawa - Robust Preparation of Sub‐20‐nm‐Thin Lamellae for Aberration‐Corrected Electron-1.pdf
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Hideyo Tsurusawa, Jun Uzuhashi, Yusuke Kozuka, Koji Kimoto, Tadakatsu Ohkubo. Robust Preparation of Sub‐20‐nm‐Thin Lamellae for Aberration‐Corrected Electron Microscopy. Small Methods. 2024, (), . https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202301425
SAMURAI

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(abstract)

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has been advancing resolution, sensitivity, and microanalysis due to the intense demands of atomic-level microstructural investigations. Recent STEM technologies require a thin lamella whose thickness is ideally below 20 nm. Focused ion-beam/scanning-electron-microscopy (FIB/SEM) is a common method to prepare a high-quality lamella. However, FIB/SEM can hardly control the lamella thickness near 20 nm due to the lack of in-situ thickness quantification, which eventually limits the practical applications of state-of-the-art STEM technologies. Here, we demonstrate the robust preparation of sub-20-nm-thin lamellae by FIB/SEM with real-time feedback from thickness quantification. The lamella thickness is quantified by back-scattered-electron SEM imaging in a thickness range between 0 nm and 100 nm without referring to numerical simulation. Repetitive experiments show that the FIB/SEM with feedback from in-situ thickness quantification can prepare sub-20-nm thin lamellae with nanometer-level accuracy from a SrTiO3 single crystal. Aberration-corrected STEM confirms the thinness and quality of the prepared lamella. Moreover, we extend the preparation methodology to various heterostructures grown on various single-crystalline substrates, which cover many STEM studies. Our study provides a robust platform to prepare a thin lamella with accurate control of its thickness. This platform will harness state-of-the-art STEM technologies with many practical studies in materials science and the semiconductor industry.

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Keyword: TEM, FIB, Automation

Date published: 2024-02-22

Publisher: Wiley

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  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology JPMXP1122715503

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

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First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202301425

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Updated at: 2024-05-03 08:30:11 +0900

Published on MDR: 2024-05-03 08:30:12 +0900

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