Focused Ion Beam Systems

The Tescan Solaris X, the FEI Strata 400S and the Zeiss Auriga 60 Dual Beam FIB are all combinations of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a focused ion beam (FIB) system, which allows imaging and structuring of materials at the nanoscale. The focused Xenon or Gallium ion beam can either be used for ion imaging or to cut predefined patterns or images in the surface of a solid. At the same time, the SEM can be used to image the nanostructures generated by FIB. In addition, it is possible to locally deposit C, Pt or W from precursor gases using the electron or ion beam. Additionally, Insulator Enhanced Etching (IEE) using XeF₂ is available.