Research Projects
FOCUSSED ION BEAM APPLICATIONS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY
Faculty Mentor: Prof. L. Giannuzzi
Research Description 
The
focused ion beam (FIB) instrument originally developed in the semiconductor
industry to perform device modification and mask repair. Since then,
the site specificity of the sputtering and deposition capabilities of
the FIB has allowed for numerous applications of this tool to be explored.
Examples of uses for the FIB included specimen preparation for scanning
and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), and other analytical
instruments. The imaging capabilities and computer automationof the FIB
allow for fast and reproducible specimen preparation. The number of applications
for this powerful instrument seems to be limited only by ones own imagination.
Scientific information about microstructure and morphology, crystallography,
and composition and chemistry, may now be realized in material systems
that have otherwise been impossible
to characterize. Thus, we will focus
materials that have never beencharacterized by TEM due to the previous
inherent difficulty in preparingspecime ns for analysis.
Figure A shows a FIB image of the tip of the deformedAl. The circled
area indicates the region where a FIB specimen was lifted out of the
deformed metal via in situ FIB techniques. A TEM image of the deformed
Al is shown in Figure B. Note the elongated and [011] textured grains.
The grain widths (~ 50 - 100 nm) were reduced 3 orders of magnitude compared
to the original grain size due to the cold working operation. This example
shows how a particular processing scheme may alter the microstructure
of a material. 
- To be trained in FIB theory, and receive hands-on training in the operation and usage of the FIB for specific material systems.
- Students will be instructed in the basics of TEM operation and analysis of their FIB-prepared specimens.
- Students will gain an understanding of microstructure and digital image analysis of materials. Computer usage is pervasive in these endeavors.