Preparation of material for examination by transmission electron microscopy techniques

摘要

Method and apparatus for preparing a specimen for observation under the electron microscope by ion erosion. A saddle-field ion source is employed to irradiate the specimen with the specimen held in close proximity spacing with respect to the cathode aperture of the ion source. Such close proximity spacing ensures that the specimen is thinned at a rapid rate comparable with the rates attained with chemical etching.