Development of novel alloys and materials are pushing new frontiers in various research fields and has enabled new age technologies. These new class of materials require advanced characterization and analytics in 3D to understand the microstructure and related functional properties. Focused ion beam scanning electron microscopes (FIB-SEMs) have become integral tools for characterizing sub-surface and internal features, understanding and optimizing microstructure, failure analysis in various components and materials for subsequent optimization in various applications. With more complex materials and components high resolution imaging and analysis of large area cross-sections in the millimeter scale are required where FIB-SEMs are not effective. Conventional techniques employing mechanical grinding and polishing methods introduce cracks, deformations and introduce artifacts further damaging the samples. Alternatives using a Plasma ion source FIBs have been employed for large area cross-sections for various applications.
In this work, we present a femtosecond laser combined with ZEISS Crossbeam for fast removal of large volume of material. Case studies comparing a nanosecond laser and a femtosecond laser will be presented to evaluate the precision of the milled region and resultant thermal modifications in the microstructure.
Combining the electron microscopy tools with non-destructive 3D characterization using X-ray microscopy has transformed existing workflows and enabled precise targeting of sub-surface features of interest and methods of studying the composition and crystallographic microstructure. Automation in imaging and analytics during 3D FIB-SEM serial section tomography with precise control over the slice thickness along with simultaneous EDS and EBSD characterization has further opened capabilities to analyze microstructure and composition of novel materials in 3D with high spatial resolution.