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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Cryo-electron Microscopy Specimen Preparation By Means Of a Focused Ion Beam
Published on: July 26, 2014
Gas-assisted silver deposition with a focused electron beam
Luisa Berger1, Katarzyna Madajska2, Iwona B Szymanska2
1Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures, Feuerwerkerstrasse 39, 3602 Thun, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) is a flexible direct-write method to obtain defined structures with a high lateral resolution. In order to use this technique in application fields such as plasmonics, suitable precursors which allow the deposition of desired materials have to be identified. Well known for its plasmonic properties, silver represents an interesting candidate for FEBID. For this purpose the carboxylate complex silver(I) pentafluoropropionate (AgO2CC2F5) was used for the first time in FEBID and resulted in deposits with high silver content of up to 76 atom %. As verified by TEM investigations, the deposited material is composed of pure silver crystallites in a carbon matrix. It showed good electrical properties and a strong Raman signal enhancement. Interestingly, silver crystal growth presents a strong dependency on electron dose and precursor refreshment.
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