ZEISS
ZEISS Crossbeam 550 Superfab.
ZEISS has announced the launch of its focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM), the ZEISS Crossbeam 550 Samplefab. The solution offers full automation of the preparation process of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples (lamellae). According to the optics and optoelectronics specialist, the Crossbeam 550 Samplefab was designed to optimise throughput and efficiency within semiconductor labs as it promotes automation in routine TEM sample preparation processes like bulk milking, lift-out, and thinning of a sample’s target points.
“To address the growing industry need for TEM sample preparation, we have built a dedicated FIB-SEM, the ZEISS Crossbeam 550 Samplefab. Our focus is to offer the most robust automation available on the market today, allowing fully unsupervised operation of down to 100 nm thin lamellae with high accuracy and throughput,” said Dr Thomas Rodgers, Head of Business Sector Electronics at ZEISS Microscopy. “The system’s user interface is completely new, designed for a rapid learning curve and intuitive operation by both novices and experts. With the new Crossbeam 550 Samplefab FIB, customers can automatically process ten lamellae in under eight hours, starting from a bulk sample and ending with a thinned lamella ready for the TEM.”
Key features of the ZEISS Crossbeam 550 Samplefab:
- Provides an automation yield of >90% when processing lamellae from bulk to TEM grid without manual intervention.
- Enhances efficiency and throughput levels in semiconductor labs.
- Drives lamellae success rates towards 100% with manual checks allowed throughout the automation process.
- Helps to detect defects to improve overall yields in semiconductor manufacturing.
- Using the Gemini 2 electron column, users can observe samples live with the SEM during FIB milling. This will help improve quality assurance levels to aid automation processes.
Rodgers concluded, “Our FIB column is extremely stable, and while we have an automated calibration routine, users report rarely needing to calibrate or align the system over multiple weeks, especially if it is working on routine processes. This dramatically reduces the operator effort, and the time spent setting up the tool before an automated run. What’s more, the workflow is so robust that dozens of lamellae can be created using a single probe tip, which only needs reshaping after a few days of heavy use. The tip can be sharpened with a simple reshaping operation that takes less than 30 minutes, and the needle can be reshaped multiple times before needing to be replaced, whereas a new tip exchange also takes only half an hour. This dramatically increases the productive uptime of the tool, and lowers the cost spent on consumables.”