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Journal of Electron Microscopy Advance Access originally published online on October 13, 2006
Journal of Electron Microscopy 2006 55(4):209-214; doi:10.1093/jmicro/dfl027
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Microscopy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

A modified back-etch method for preparation of plan-view high-resolution transmission electron microscopy samples

Bo Yao1,*, Rumyana V. Petrova2, Richard R. Vanfleet3 and Kevin R. Coffey1,2

1 Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida Orlando FL 32816, USA
2 Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center, Department of Physics, University of Central Florida Orlando FL 32815, USA
3 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University Provo UT 84602, USA

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bo555252{at}pegasus.cc.ucf.edu

A modified back-etch method is described that has been successfully used to prepare samples of thin films and nanoparticles on Si wafer substrates for examination by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). This process includes ultrasonic cutting, abrasive pre-thinning and a two-stage etching procedure. Unlike previous reports of back-etching methods, tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, which has a very high-etching selectivity of Si to SiO2, is used for the final etching to allow removal of the Si without degradation of the SiO2 membrane. An innovative wrapping method is also described. This novel approach reduces the preparation time for HRTEM samples to <1 h per sample for groups of 10 or more samples. As an example, the preparation of FePt nanoparticle samples for HRTEM imaging is described.

Keywords     back-etch method, TEM, HRTEM, sample preparation, Si, thin films

Received      9 March 2006, accepted 18 September 2006


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B. Yao and K. R. Coffey
Back-etch method for plan view transmission electron microscopy sample preparation of optically opaque films
J. Electron Microsc. (Tokyo), April 1, 2008; 57(2): 47 - 52.
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