Focused ion beam technology, capabilities and ... - FEI Company

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Figure 42: FIB machined photonic array with
customized pitch. 30 micron field of view.
Time to production is 15 minutes.
Figure 45: SE image made with the low current
ion beam, showing a piezoelectric
Lithium Niobate tip with FIB deposited electrodes
and connections.
AFM (SPM)
If the standard methods of nano-device
research are no longer applicable,
the rules can be changed and the
toolset customized for the new
challenges ahead. Scanning probe
microscopes rely on the characteristics
of the probes they use. This
single part of an AFM (SPM) has not
changed a lot since the technique
was invented. By harnessing the ability
of focused ion beam techniques to
customize all the characteristics of
the tips individually, the true capabilities
of AFM can be used for the
first time.
It is now possible to change the tip
profile, the tip material, or the tip
conductivity to allow it to measure
Figure 43: Image of a sapphire tip sharpened
locally by FIB milling. This ‘Super tip’ on the
tip is extremely sharp, as is shown by comparing
the two radii.
the data you need.
Instead of measuring the topography
of the surface, measure the forces
exerted during a catalytic reaction, or
the attraction between magnetic
domains, or the effects of applying a
voltage to an individual muscle fiber.
The ability to rapidly adapt and
innovate is distilled into one single
instrumental solution. The FIB will
expand the capabilities of the AFM
by allowing customized tip modification
that suits to discover the information
required. An example is a
modification of the light emitting tip
of the scanning near-field optical
microscope, one of the variants of
the AFM.
Structural Nano-Prototyping
Creating structures at the micro to
nano scale relies on processes that
operate with the tightest control
standards. To understand whether
the behavior of a structure within a
certain environment is attributable to
its chemistry, its electrical or magnetic
characteristics, its dynamic behavior
or even just its shape can be
challenging and time consuming.
The structure itself may not be trivial
Figure 44: SE image made with FIB showing a
silicon AFM tip machined to be a super-tip,
with very small radius for high resolution
AFM imaging.
to create, and understanding the
failure modes of unique sites seems
impossible using conventional techniques.
The direct etch/deposition
combination of FIB combined with
its digitally addressed patterning
system provides a nano-prototyping
engine with exciting new capabilities
to assist the researcher in nano
technology. In fact, the focused ion
beam system operates at micro and
nano scale and hence can also be
used to actually create the structures
required, in addition to its analytical
capability. New higher precision
control and structural analysis have
become a new routine using FIB.
Figure 46: Optical image of the extracted
TEM foil on a TEM grid. The vertical interface
between resin and ceramic matrix is clearly
visible.