Focused Ion Beam (FIB): Applications in Micro- and Nanoanalysis in Geosciences and Applied Mineralogy
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Richard Wirth
Abstract
Recently the focused ion beam (FIB) tool has been successfully used to prepare site-specific geological specimens for subsequent analysis by TEM, and as a stand-alone instrument for micromachining of materials such as diamond. FIB enables to prepare a TEM foil from the specific location of interest. TEM foils with the dimensions 20 × 10 × 0.150 micrometer can be cut from nearly any sample by means of a Ga-ion beam. The preparation of a TEM-ready foil with similar dimensions takes about 4 hours in a fully automated process, which is significantly faster than conventional argon ion milling. It is this unique possibility of site-specific TEM foil preparation, which enables TEM investigation of submicron-sized mineral inclusions in mantle minerals such as diamond, garnet or olivine, thus providing an insight into the pressure-temperature conditions and chemical composition of the Earth's mantle during formation of the encapsulating minerals. A FEI FIB200 instrument is operated at the GFZ Potsdam since more than two years and TEM foils from many rock-forming minerals such as olivine, garnet, pyroxene, amphibole, quartz, apatite or glass, metals, ceramic materials and even microfossils have been successfully prepared and subsequently investigated by TEM. The first finding of nanometre-sized diamond aggregates in melt inclusions enclosed in a silicate mineral (pyroxene) in mantle xenoliths from Hawaiian lavas illustrates the enormous potential of this technique. Another novel application of FIB in geosciences is micromachining diamonds, which are used for high-pressure diamond anvil cells (DAC).
Kurzfassung
In jüngster Zeit wurde die FIB-Methode zur Präparation geologischer Festkörperproben sowohl zur Analyse mit dem TEM als auch als Instrument zur Mikro-Materialbearbeitung von Materialien wie Diamanten erfolgreich eingesetzt. FIB ermöglicht die Präparation von TEM-Folien von einer bestimmten Probenstelle. TEM-Folien mit den Abmessungen 20 × 10 × 0.150 Mikrometer können durch einen Ga-Ionenstrahl aus nahezu jeder Probe geschnitten werden. In einem voll automatisierten Prozess dauert die Präparation einer TEM-Folie mit ähnlichen Abmessungen etwa 4 Stunden, was erheblich schneller ist als beim konventionellen Argon-Ionendünnen. Es bietet die einzigartige Möglichkeit einer zielgenauen TEM-Folienpräparation, was eine TEM-Untersuchungen von mineralischen Einschlüssen im Submikronbereich in Mantelmineralien wie Diamant, Granat oder Olivin ermöglicht und so Einblicke in Druck-Temperatur-Bedingungen und die chemische Zusammensetzung des Erdmantels während der Bildung der Minerale liefert. Seit mehr als zwei Jahren wird am GFZ Potsdam ein FEI-FIB 200-Gerät betrieben, TEM-Folien vieler gesteinsbildender Minerale wie Olivin, Granat, Pyroxen, Amphibol, Quarz, Apatit oder Glas, Metalle, keramisches Material und sogar Mikrofossilien wurden erfolgreich präpariert und danach im TEM untersucht. Das erste Auffinden von Diamantaggregaten im Nanometerbereich in Schmelzeinschlüssen in einem Silikatmineral (Pyroxen) in Mantelxenolithen von hawaianischer Lava gibt Einblick in das enorme Potenzial dieser Technik. Eine weitere neuartige Anwendung der FIB-Technik in den Geowissenschaften ist die Mikrobearbeitung von Diamanten, die bei Hochdruck-Diamant-Stempelpressen (DAC - diamond anvil cells) eingesetzt werden.
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© 2005, Carl Hanser Verlag, München
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Contents/Inhalt
- Inhalt / Contents
- Editorial
- Herausforderungen an die TEM-Probenpräparation
- Technical Contributions/Fachbeiträge
- Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen an mit FIB-Präparation hergestellten Grenzflächen von biologischen Materialien und Werkstoffen: erste Ergebnisse
- Focused Ion Beam Preparation and EFTEM/EELS Studies on Vanadium Nitride Thin Films
- Focused Ion Beam (FIB): Applications in Micro- and Nanoanalysis in Geosciences and Applied Mineralogy
- TEM-Zielpräparation unter REM-Beobachtung mittels Zweistrahl-FIB
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Contents/Inhalt
- Inhalt / Contents
- Editorial
- Herausforderungen an die TEM-Probenpräparation
- Technical Contributions/Fachbeiträge
- Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen an mit FIB-Präparation hergestellten Grenzflächen von biologischen Materialien und Werkstoffen: erste Ergebnisse
- Focused Ion Beam Preparation and EFTEM/EELS Studies on Vanadium Nitride Thin Films
- Focused Ion Beam (FIB): Applications in Micro- and Nanoanalysis in Geosciences and Applied Mineralogy
- TEM-Zielpräparation unter REM-Beobachtung mittels Zweistrahl-FIB