FIB-SEM microgripper success

The recent installment of the Kleindiek Lift-Out Shuttle on the MCN Dual Beam Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB-SEM) has helped VahidReza Adineh, a Monash University PhD student, to achieve what was not possible with several months of work using the standard 3‐axis micromanipulator.

VahidReza was aiming to take a thin slice of a mouse whisker and place it cut-side down on a silicon wafer so that he could then utilise the Atomic Force Microscope to perform characterisation on the sample. However, with the regular micromanipulator probe installed in the FIB-SEM, it was almost impossible to place the whisker segment cut-side down on the wafer. After several months of trying different section lengths, placing methods and needle placement, VahidReza had not been able to successfully gain the sample needed for imaging.

With the installment of the Kleindiek Nanotechnik Lift-Out Shuttle, the sample was able to be prepared within just a few hours. The microgripper was used to gently grip the sample while it was removed from the whisker, after which it controlled the placement of the whisker segment on the wafer and secured it with the deposition of platinum patches.

The Lift-Out Shuttle allows users heightened control of their samples in situ and is consistently reliable and efficient in manipulating very small objects, saving users time and money. For more information on how you can make the most of this capability, please contact Fatima Eftekahri.