A Method for Thinning FIB Prepared TEM Specimens after Lift-Out

Abstract Advantages of the FIB lift-out technique over traditional H-bar TEM specimen preparation have been recognized. The ability to rapidly (< 1 hour) prepare a site specific TEM specimen without destroying the entire bulk specimen has led to a wide spread reliance on this method. The main disadvantage of this technique is an inability to accomplish additional membrane thinning if required. Traditional H-bar preparation allows additional thinning. However, mechanical polishing is time consuming and the bulk sample is destroyed. A method has been developed which combines the efficient, site specific advantages of the lift-out method with the H-bar's ability to accomplish additional thinning. in this procedure a lift-out specimen is removed from the bulk sample and mounted onto a half-grid in a configuration similar to that employed by the H-bar technique. A 1.0-micron thick lift-out specimen was prepared using a FEI Strata DB-235 FIB dual-beam workstation by sputtering away bulk material leaving a thin membrane containing a desired feature (FIG 1).