The goal: an electron-transparent slice#
Transmission electron microscopy needs specimens thin enough for electrons to pass through, typically under ~100 nm. The focused ion beam (FIB) can mill such a lamella from almost any site on a sample, but the lamella then has to be detached, lifted clear and mounted on a grid without damage. That transfer is where speed and yield are won or lost.
In-situ lift-out#
Rather than breaking vacuum, in-situ lift-out does the whole transfer inside the chamber with a micromanipulator: a fine probe approaches the milled lamella, attaches to it, the last connection is cut, and the lamella is carried to a grid and fixed in place. Because the manipulator integrates coarse and fine motion with no backlash, the same delicate sequence repeats reliably, session after session.
From here, read how the in-situ lift-out workflow works step by step, or watch full lift-outs filmed under the beam.
