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Focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy for 3D materials characterization

  • Focused Ion Beam Technology and Applications
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Abstract

In this article, we review focused ion beam serial sectioning microscopy paired with analytical techniques, such as electron backscatter diffraction or x-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry, to study materials chemistry and structure in three dimensions. These three-dimensional microanalytical approaches have been greatly extended due to advances in software for both microscope control and data interpretation. Samples imaged with these techniques reveal structural features of materials that can be quantitatively characterized with rich chemical and crystallographic detail. We review these technological advances and the application areas that are benefitting. We also consider the challenges that remain for data collection, data processing, and visualization, which collectively limit the scale of these investigations. Further, we discuss recent innovations in quantitative analyses and numerical modeling that are being applied to microstructures illuminated by these techniques.

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Acknowledgments

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) under contract DE-AC0494AL85000. P. K. acknowledges Michael Rye at Sandia for helping with manual serial sectioning and 3D XEDS acquisition. G.S.R. acknowledges financial support from the ONR-MURI under Grant No. N00014–11–1-0678 and the MRSEC program of the National Science Foundation under Award DMR-0520425.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sandia National Laboratories, USA

    Paul G. Kotula

  2. Carnegie Mellon University, USA

    Gregory S. Rohrer

  3. Marsh Imaging and Visualization, USA

    Michael P. Marsh

Authors
  1. Paul G. Kotula
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  2. Gregory S. Rohrer
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  3. Michael P. Marsh
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Correspondence to Paul G. Kotula.

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Kotula, P.G., Rohrer, G.S. & Marsh, M.P. Focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy for 3D materials characterization. MRS Bulletin 39, 361–365 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2014.55

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2014.55

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