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Title: Effect of Gallium Focused Ion Beam Milling on Preparation of Aluminum Thin Foils

Journal Article · · Journal of Microscopy
OSTI ID:986391

Focus Ion Beam (FIB) milling has greatly extended the utility of atom probe and TEM because it enables sample preparation with a level of dimensional control never before possible. Using FIB it is possible to extract the samples from desired and very specific locations. The artifacts associated with this sample preparation method must also be fully understood. In this work issues specifically relevant to the FIB milling of aluminum alloys are presented. After using the FIB as a sample preparation technique it is evident that gallium will concentrate in three areas of the sample: on the surface, on grain boundaries and at interphase boundaries. This work also shows that low energy Ar ion nanomilling is potentially quite effective for removing gallium implantation layers and gallium from the internal surfaces of aluminum thin foils.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Shared Research Equipment Collaborative Research Center
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
986391
Journal Information:
Journal of Microscopy, Vol. 8, Issue 3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English