FIB Zeiss NVision 40

FIB/SEM workstation: Association of a focused ion beam (FIB), a gas injection system, analytical tools and nano-manipulators to a scanning electron microscope (SEM)

 

FIB/SEM Microscopy-Team

Thierry Douillard (MATEIS), Nicholas Blanchard (ILM), Rémy Fulcrand (ILM), Cyril Langlois (MATEIS), Florent Dalmas (MATEIS), Solène Brottet (INL).

 

Microscope overview

The FIB/SEM has been installed in CLYM since the beginning of 2010. It is a NVision 40 from Zeiss, composed of an electronic column Gemini I and an ionic column SIINT Zeta Ga+. The ionic column allows the sputtering of matter with a nanometric accuracy. It is therefore possible to modify or create samples with particular shapes or to analyse the material under the surface. The FIB/SEM possesses several accessories, such as :

  • A gas injection system: possibility to do in situ deposition of Carbon, Tungsten or SiOx, but also to use XeF2 or H2O during milling
  • 2 micromanipulators for the extraction of chunks from the sample
  • A 6-axis sample holder allowing any desired movement (X, Y, Z, rotation, tilt) and the eucentric positioning (M).

The FIB/SEM is also equipped with the following detectors:

  • In-lens SE and BSE (annular scintillators – good performance at low tension)
  • ET-SE and Secondary Ion detector
  • QBSE (semi-conductor)
  • STEM (0.8 nm@30 kV, bright field & dark field)
  • EBSD with a NordlysF+ camera (Oxford Instruments, High Wycombe, UK)
  • EDX with a X-max 50mm² Silicon Drift Detector (Oxford Instruments, High Wycombe, UK)

The device has been completed by an external 16 bit scanning system (FIBICS incorporated, Ottawa, CA) capable of controlling the electron and ion beam independently or simultaneously. This unit is driven by the NanoPatterning software and Visualisation Engine (NPVE) for complex etching and includes Atlas3D for FIB nanotomographies.

In conclusion, this equipment allows a great variety of experiments, such as nano-patterning, thin foil preparation for TEM analysis, 3D characterization, or ion imaging.

 

Image library

 

FIB Nanostructures
Editors: Wang, Zhiming M. (Ed.)

Within the context of a book writing entitled "FIB NANOSTRUCTURES" reporting an exhaustive state of the art of FIB various applications for the creation of nanostructures, an ILM team (CLYM partner) has been solicited for the radaction of a chapter titled  "FIB Design for Nanofluidic Application".  In this context, the authors have demonstrated that the use of the dual beam NVision 40 system present at CLYM gives access to a whole new application domain: the NanoFluidique.

 

A CNRS training is organized every years, for more information click on the following link.