A FIB-nanotomography method for accurate 3D reconstruction of open nanoporous structures

We present an automated focused ion beam nanotomography method for nanoporous microstructures with open porosity, and apply it to reconstruct nanoporous gold (np-Au) structures with ligament sizes on the order of a few tens of nanometers. This method uses serial sectioning of a well-defined wedge-shaped geometry to determine the thickness of individual slices from the changes in the sample width in successive cross-sectional images. The pore space of a selected region of the np-Au is infiltrated with ion-beam-deposited Pt composite before serial sectioning. The cross-sectional images are binarized and stacked according to the individual slice thicknesses, and then processed using standard reconstruction methods. For the image conditions and sample geometry used here, we are able to determine the thickness of individual slices with an accuracy much smaller than a pixel. The accuracy of the new method based on actual slice thickness is assessed by comparing it with (i) a reconstruction using the same cross-sectional images but assuming a constant slice thickness, and (ii) a reconstruction using traditional FIB-tomography method employing constant slice thickness. The morphology and topology of the structures are characterized using ligament and pore size distributions, interface shape distribution functions, interface normal distributions, and genus. The results suggest that the morphology and topology of the final reconstructions are significantly influenced when a constant slice thickness is assumed. The study reveals grain-to-grain variations in the morphology and topology of np-Au.