Abstract
AbstractWe have developed an experimental apparatus for heating samples in the temperature range 50–400°C during ion milling. We find that heating to temperatures > 250°C during milling greatly reduces ion sputtering amorphization of the sample surfaces, due to dynamic reannealing of point defects. This allows thinner regions of crystalline sample to be imaged, without the signal being swamped by noise due to milling amorphization. At temperatures ≥300°C, however implantation defects am formed. We discuss the advantages of this technique for high resolution imaging.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC