A Focused Ion Beam Microscopy Facility for Advanced Materials Analysis

离子束制备及其用于精密光刻的能力使其成为材料科学中最有趣和最有用的工具之一。它是制备用于透射电子显微镜和扫描透射电子显微镜的高质量特定部位标本的关键，其作为纳米尺度手术刀的多功能性使其成为纳米结构形状和设计的重要工具，否则通常很难或不可能实现。基于我们在聚焦离子束制备方面的长期记录和材料表征方面的专业知识，我们将委托第三代聚焦离子束仪器。该设计用稀有气体光束取代了第一代和第二代仪器中使用的镓光束。惰性气体束的使用在减少化学反应、注入和表面损伤方面比镓有很大的优势。因此，我们将能够从先进的高分辨率电子显微镜中提取最大可能的信息，减少在准备横截面和提升时的伪影和模糊性。此外，随着第三代机器的出现，我们以光刻方式定义特征的能力将受益于清晰度的显着改进。这将使我们能够在比目前可能的更大范围的材料系统中创建和研究功能纳米结构。格拉斯哥开尔文纳米表征中心将这一最先进的工具添加到格拉斯哥大学，整个苏格兰和整个英国北部的众多项目和合作中，为高质量TEM/STEM标本的提升而优化的稀有气体FIB将具有特别的国家重要性，因为它是EPSRC在英国任何地方资助的第一种仪器。访问机制将到位，允许来自英国各地的用户使用该设施，详见其他地方。我们将跟踪该仪器将产生的重大工业影响，包括与现有的先进材料开发工业合作伙伴合作，以及与仪器供应商合作，进一步开发使用模式和协议，为此类技术的未来用户带来明显的好处。通过与两个博士培训中心的明确联系，这也将有利于培养下一代科学家和技术人员。

Ion beam preparation and the ability to use it for precision lithography has made it one of the most interesting and useful tools in materials science. It is key to the preparation of high quality site-specific specimens for transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy and its versatility as a nanoscale scalpel makes it an essential tool for nanostructuring shapes and designs that are often difficult or impossible to realise otherwise. Building upon our long track record in focused ion beam preparation and expertise in materials characterisation we will commission a 3rd generation focused ion beam instrument. This design replaces the gallium beam used in the 1st and 2nd generation instruments with a noble gas beam for milling. The use of noble gas beams has major advantages over gallium in reducing chemical reactions, implantation and surface damage. In consequence we will be able to extract the greatest possible information from advanced high-resolution electron microscopy by reducing artefacts and ambiguities when preparing cross sections and lift outs. Moreover, with the 3rd generation machine our ability to define features lithographically will benefit from a significant improvement in definition. This will allow us to create and study functional nanostructures in a greater range of material systems than currently possible. The addition of this state of the art tool to the Kelvin Nanocharacterisation Centre at Glasgow will add value to numerous projects and collaborations at the University of Glasgow, across Scotland and throughout the north of the UK, a noble gas FIB that is optimised for the liftout of high quality TEM/STEM specimens will be of especial national importance as the first instrument of its kind funded by the EPSRC anywhere in the UK. Access mechanisms will be put in place to allow users from across the UK to use this facility, as detailed elsewhere. We will track the significant industrial impact this instrument will have, including with existing industrial partners on advanced materials development, as well as in collaboration with the instrument suppliers to further develop usage modes and protocols with a clear benefit to future users of such technology. This will also benefit the training of a future generation of scientists and technologists through its explicit linkage to two Centres for Doctoral Training.