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SEM image of the full Li-NMC electrode sample, showing the two porous layers and the metal film at the center of the structure.

Cross Section Ion Beam Milling of Battery Components

Sample Preparation of Lithium battery systems requires high quality surface preparation to evaluate their internal structure and morphology. Due to the brittle materials involved, preparing pristine…

Introduction to Ion Beam Etching with the EM TIC 3X

In this article you can learn how to optimize the preparation quality of your samples by using the ion beam etching method with the EM TIC 3X ion beam milling machine. A short introduction of the…

Studying the Microstructure of Natural Polymers in Fine Detail

The potential of cryogenic broad ion beam milling used in combination with scanning electron microscopy (cryo-BIB-SEM) for imaging and analyzing the microstructure of cryogenically stabilized soft…

Practical Applications of Broad Ion Beam Milling

Mechanical polishing can be time consuming and frustrating. It can also introduce unwanted artifacts when preparing cross-sectioned samples for electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in the scanning…

Porous Ceramics - Sample Preparation for SEM

Application Note for Leica EM RES102 - Ceramic membrane filters with pore sizes down to a few nanometres must be investigated in cross-section with regard to the structure of the pores. The smallest…

Each Atom Counts: Protect Your Samples Prior to FIB Processing

Application Note for Leica EM ACE600 - Focused ion beam (FIB) technology has become an indispensable tool for site-specific TEM sample preparation. It allows to extract electron transparent specimens…

Paper Samples - Sample Preparation for SEM

Application Note for Leica EM RES102 - A coated paper sample has been prepared with ion beam slope cutting in order to test the procedure with regard to its applicability. With the use of ion beam…

Ion Beam Polishing of Sample Surfaces - Sample Preparation for SEM

Application Note for Leica EM RES102 - Ion milling can be used to reduce the roughness of sample surfaces. Small angles less than 6° with respect to the sample surface are necessary. The high voltage…

Triple-beam Ar-Ion-Milling with a Rotary Stage to Decorate Grain Boundaries and Substructures in Rock Salt

Decoration of grain boundaries in polycrystalline rocks has a long tradition in Structural Geology as in a monomineralic rock the recrystallized grain size is a good indicator for the paleostress…