Rise to the occasion – high quality sample preparation for high resolution TEM

TEM sample preparation methods are as versatile as there are materials and examinationmethods.During the last decades, they have advanced in parallel with the revolutionary development of themicroscopes themselves. Nowadays, corrected ultra-high-resolution transmission electronmicroscopes and the option of in-situ real-time analyses, have provided access to the atomic scaleand are critical for innovations in materials design based on accurate understanding of theproperties of the latest materials under working conditions.The characterization of materials is accompanied by the need to produce high quality samplesthrough sophisticated and innovative sample preparation techniques, thus posing entirely newchallenges for sample preparation.Mechanical or ion-based (broad and focused ion beam) [1-3] sample preparations are nowstandard preparation techniques and yet, depending on the material, new preparation proceduresmust always be developed to minimize preparation-related artifacts [4-7] and to allow samples tobe examined in as pristine a state as possible.Preparations for in-situ heating and/or biasing experiments present many more challenges due tothe MEMS chip geometry and the TEM investigation method, which have to be solved withingenuity and creativity [8,9].This talk will focus on recent developments in TEM sample preparation, with special attention onFIB lamella preparation for HR analytical STEM studies and in-situ TEM. First-hand experienceand a variety of practical examples will provide a deep insight into a modern approach to a widerange of preparation techniques used at different stages of sample preparation.