Focused ion beam

About: Focused ion beam is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 12154 publications have been published within this topic receiving 179523 citations. The topic is also known as: FIB.

New broad beam gas ion source for industrial application

Abstract: A source delivering a broad, high current ion beam compatible with both chemically active and inert gases has been developed which gives reliable, long term, maintenance‐free operation. It uses a glow discharge with a cold cathode in a magnetic field where a dense uniform plasma is generated in large volumes at low gas pressures. Optimal selection of the electrode configuration and magnetic field ensures operation at pressures lower than 0.1 Pa in pulse–periodic mode (1–10 A discharge current, 1 ms pulse length, 25–50 Hz frequency), and continuous mode (discharge current up to 2 A). The current density of a 15‐cm‐diam beam can reach 10 mA cm−2 in the former, and 1 mAcm−2 in the latter. Tests with a 50‐cm‐diam discharge chamber show the uniformity of the ion emission current to be better than ±10%, confirming that the technology is scaleable, and that beams of up to 2000 cm2 cross‐sectional area can be obtained without loss of beam uniformity through appropriate design of the extraction system. The source is completely reactive gas‐compatible, generating ion beams from oxygen, nitrogen, argon or ionized CH radicals (e.g., using C3H8). Mass‐charge beam analysis shows the beams generated to be of high purity (≳99%). Applications include low energy (1–3 keV) ion beam cleaning of glass, ceramic and metal surfaces prior to the deposition of protective and decorative coatings such as TiN and diamondlike carbon, ion beam assisted deposition, and high energy gas ion implantation using, e.g., pulse–periodic beams of ions with energies up to 50 keV.

Electron beam induced deposition of low resistivity platinum from Pt(PF3)4a)

Abstract: The authors have deposited Pt from Pt(PF3)4 using a focused 10keV electron beam (scanning electron microscopy) in an FEI 620 dual beam system and measured the resistivity and composition of the deposits. To measure resistivity, lines of Pt were deposited across four gold fingers and the cross-sectional area of the lines was measured by focused ion beam sectioning. The resistivity varies between about 30 and 650μΩcm and is orders of magnitude lower than the resistivity achieved by e-beam-induced deposition using the usual organometallic precursor, (methylcyclopentadienyl) trimethyl platinum. In general, the higher the beam current the lower the resistivity. They have used wavelength dispersive x-ray analysis to measure the composition of rectangles deposited with various beam currents. Typical at.% values of (Pt:P:F) are 81:17:2 and 58:32:10. Minimum linewidth that they have deposited is 80nm, and with a stationary beam of 2.8nA they have deposited a pillar of 135nm in diameter. They have also deposited Pt...

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observations on the Berkovich indentation-induced deformation microstructures in GaN thin films

Abstract: Nanoindentation-induced mechanical deformation in GaN thin films prepared by metal-organic chemical-vapour deposition was investigated using the Berkovich diamond tip in combination with the cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). By using focused ion beam milling to accurately position the cross-section of the indented region, the XTEM results demonstrate that the major plastic deformation was taking place through the propagation of dislocations. The present observations are in support of attributing the pop-ins that appeared in the load–displacement curves to the massive dislocation activities occurring underneath the indenter during the loading cycle. The absence of indentation-induced new phases might have been due to the stress relaxation via the substrate and is also consistent with the fact that no discontinuity was found upon unloading.

Prediction of bulk tensile behavior of dual phase stainless steels using constituent behavior from micropillar compression experiments

Abstract: Micropillar compression has become an attractive method to probe local mechanical behavior. While most micropillar compression work has focused on investigating size effects, we can also use this technique to obtain the constitutive behavior of microscopic phases and constituents. In this study, micropillars of ferrite and martensite were fabricated by focused ion beam (FIB) milling of dual phase precipitation hardened powder metallurgy (PM) stainless steels. Compression testing was conducted using a nanoindenter equipped with a flat punch indenter. The stress–strain curves of the individual microconstituents were obtained. Using a rule of mixtures approach in conjunction with porosity corrections, the mechanical properties of ferrite and martensite were combined to predict the tensile behavior of the bulk material, and reasonable agreement was found for the ultimate tensile strength.