Advances in Focused Ion Beam Tomography for Three-Dimensional Characterization in Materials Science

Abstract

Over the years, FIB-SEM tomography has become an extremely important technique for the three-dimensional reconstruction of microscopic structures with nanometric resolution. This paper describes in detail the steps required to perform this analysis, from the experimental setup to the data analysis and final reconstruction. To demonstrate the versatility of the technique, a comprehensive list of applications is also summarized, ranging from batteries to shale rocks and even some types of soft materials. Moreover, the continuous technological development, such as the introduction of the latest models of plasma and cryo-FIB, can open the way towards the analysis with this technique of a large class of soft materials, while the introduction of new machine learning and deep learning systems will not only improve the resolution and the quality of the final data, but also expand the degree of automation and efficiency in the dataset handling. These future developments, combined with a technique that is already reliable and widely used in various fields of research, are certain to become a routine tool in electron microscopy and material characterization.

Multiphase Reconstruction of Heterogeneous Materials Using Machine Learning and Quality of Connection Function

“…Next, we construct the 3D voxel model for M PC according to Equation (6). In this context, we further assume that {C i } represents the collection of individual components within M PC .…”

“…Over the past year, various initiatives have been undertaken to attain the threedimensional structure of materials [5][6][7][8]. The initial efforts focused on achieving the materials' structure through practical methodologies including microtomography and stochastic reconstruction of the microstructure [9][10][11].…”

The Microstructural Reconstruction of Variously Sintered Ni-SDC Cermets Using Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy Nanotomography

“…The FIB tomography approach consists of ablating a structure physically by FIB cutting, followed by a digital reconstruction based on SEM images taken after each ablation step. State-of-the-art FIB-SEM tomography can reduce voxel dimensions down to 3 × 3 × 3 nm 3 while the size of the analysed volume can still remain in the range of 10 × 10 × 10 µm 3 due to the automated process [27][28][29]. Such precise volume analysis offers very accurate 3D microstructural information in areas still large enough to provide a general depiction of the material.…”

Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy (CLEM): A Multifaceted Tool for the Study of Geological Specimens

“…CLEM can be combined with complementary destructive and non-destructive characterization techniques such as X-ray microscopy (XRM) [19][20][21][22][23], X-ray diffraction (XRD) [24,25], Raman spectroscopy [26,27], electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) [28,29], and focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) tomography [30].…”