| AVS 63rd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Advanced Ion Microscopy Focus Topic | Thursday Sessions |
| Session HI+NS-ThM |
| Session: | Fundamentals of Ion Beam Microscopy |
| Presenter: | Jacques Gierak, LPN-CNRS, Route de Nozay France |
| Authors: | J. Gierak, LPN-CNRS, Route de Nozay France L. Bischoff, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Germany P. Mazarov, Raith GmbH, Germany L. Bruchhaus, Raith GmbH, Germany P. Lozano, Massachusetts Institute of Technology C. Perez Martinez, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Nowadays Focused Ion Beams (FIBs) machines have become very important tools capable of fulfilling many challenges ranging from micro- to nanofabrication. These tools are widely used both for industrial1 and emerging nanosciences applications2.
Traditionally FIB technology has been mainly based on gallium Liquid Metal Ions Source. The very high brightness, long lifespan, small source size of the gallium LMIS, and its easy handling, remain its chief and most decisive advantages, but some weaknesses are also well known that inhibit improvements in the resolution of LMIS-based FIB. Therefore progress on ion sources operational characteristics remains very desirable.
In this presentation we will first summarize our recent efforts aiming at optimizing gallium LMIS “needle type” within a dedicated environment for stable operation at lowest possible emission currents. This effort and the important performance gains3, we will detail, are a firm evidence that progresses can still be expected from this technology.
We will then review and detail the advantages of Liquid Metal Alloy Ion Sources (LMAIS) that represent a promising alternative to expand the already remarkable application field of FIB machines. Incoming ion species are found to influence significantly the properties of FIB-patterned nanostructures, in particular their electrical, optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties. A selection of the best suited elements transported in a focused ion beam will open new nanofabrication routes. In this presentation we will explain how nearly half of the elements of the periodic table can be made available to the FIB technology as a result of continuous research in this area during the last forty years4 and how, in our opinion, nanotechnology can now take benefit of these.
Finally we will introduce Ionic Liquid Ion Sources (ILIS) that are capable to produce ion beams through field-evaporation from room temperature molten-salts5. The possibility of extracting both positive and negative ions having a composition that can be tuned by the selection of the polarity, the liquid chemical composition, the ion emission current and the ion landing energies represents a formidable perspective for FIB technology.
In conclusion we will summarize our vision on the future of FIB technology with improved performances, versatility and on the science frontiers it might help to push.