Instrument Description
Gatan PIPS-II is a user-friendly precision ion polisher designed to produce high-quality, transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimens with little to no ion beam damage with ion energy as low as 100 eV. Samples can be milled from currents ranging from 300 eV to 5 keV. Modulation of the ion beam can be controlled, focusing on milling in certain orientations in the sample. It can be used to remove the ion-damaged layers from the samples prepared by PIPS or focused ion beam (FIB) system. An optical camera can be used to monitor the milling process in real time.
Applications
Preparation of TEM samples including irradiated fuels, transuranic bearing, and structural materials
TEM sample final polishing after dimple grinding or jet polishing.
Repair of thick region from the jet-polished samples.
Removal of ion-beam-damaged layer from PIPS or FIB processing.
Removal TEM sample surface contaminants or oxide layers.
Specifications
Ion milling at beam incident angle of ± 10 degrees. Each gun is independently adjustable. Varied 3-10 degrees, top or bottom.
Ion milling energies from 300 eV to 5 keV
Modulated beam settings
Ion beam energy: 100 eV to 8.0 keV
Ion current density: 10 mA/cm2 at peak
Ion beam diameter: 350 µ FWHM at 5 keV to 800 µ FWHM at 5 keV broad beam guns
Sample size: 3 mm or 2.3 mm
Sample rotation: variable from 1 to 6 rpm
Optical microscope for real-time monitoring of ion milling
Chamber vacuum: 5E-6 torr base pressure, 8E-5 torr operating pressure