TEM Sample Preparation for Microcompressed Nanocrystalline Ni

Abstract

Ultra-large compressive plasticity at room temperature has recently been observed in electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel (nc-Ni) under micro-scale compression (Pan, Kuwano, Fujita, Chen, Nano Letters 7, 2108). The evolution of microstructure of nc-Ni during ultra-large deformation is outlined at a variety of strain levels, with TEM observations in combination with a TEM sample preparation technique using focused ion beam (FIB).This paper demonstrates focused ion beam (FIB) technique to prepare transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples from microcompressed specimens. There has been a demand to prepare TEM samples from a point of interest to study microstructures on atomic scales. Conventional techniques used to make TEM samples, such as chemical polishing or ion-sputtering milling, cannot provide reliable opportunity to make TEM samples from a point of interest. With this technique, the deformation mechanism on atomic scales can be fairly connected with the result of microcompression test, which is available for size-limited materials.

CuF2 as Reversible Cathode for Fluoride Ion Batteries

“…Focused Ion Beam : For the interfacial study, cross‐sectional samples were prepared by focused ion beam from the anode/electrolyte (A/E) and the cathode/electrolyte (C/E) interfaces using an FEI Strata 400S equipped with an OmniProbe 200 micromanipulator for in situ lift‐out, and were transferred to copper (anode)/molybdenum (cathode) TEM grids . The preparation was initially performed at 30 kV with an ion beam current of 21 nA, followed by cleaning with 6.5 nA ion beam current.…”

Sample size induced brittle-to-ductile transition of single-crystal aluminum nitride

“…Both of the slip systems have been frequently observed in the wurtzite structure [33], which are expected to provide five independent slip modes to satisfy von Mises criterion for continuous In comparison with the {1 1 0 1}<1 1 2 3> slip system, the <1 1 2 3>{2 1 1 2} slip system is readily activated due to its large Schmid factor ($0.45) and the largest net driving force when loading along <0 0 0 1> direction [34,35]. To further investigate the micro-mechanisms of the plastic deformation, a deformed micropillar was sliced into a thin foil along the <0 0 0 1> direction using a FIB system for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization [36]. Fig.…”

Structural characterization of nanostructures grown by Ni metal induced lateral crystallization of amorphous-Si

“…3(i) are attributed to contamination of the protective layer (Pt and carbon), deposited at the beginning of the FIB process. 22 Low magnification Bright Field (BF) and Dark Field (DF) micrographs, taken from the area of the window after the in situ annealing, reveal the formation of grains that are extended to 50 nm in depth and 250 nm laterally, as shown in Figs. 4(a) and 4(b), respectively, with no traces of the Ni film left.…”

“…Consequently, as the length of the c-Si increases, the thickness of the NiSi 2 front is reduced, and after a distance, the growth ceases. 22 However, the crystallization in the pads A and B in Fig. 10 is more complicated, and it is strongly anisotropic due to long range interaction.…”