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Updated: Jul 4, 2025
Preparing Lamellae from Vitreous Biological Samples Using a Dual-Beam Scanning Electron Microscope for Cryo-Electron Tomography
Published on: August 5, 2021
Novel Method for the Preparation of Lamellas From Porous and Brittle Materials for In Situ TEM Heating/Biasing
Fátima Zorro1,2, Enrique Carbo-Argibay2, Paulo J Ferreira1,2,3
1Mechanical Engineering Department and IDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal.
Abstract:
A novel method for the preparation of lamellas made from porous and brittle compressed green powder using a focused ion beam (FIB) is described. One of the main purposes for the development of this methodology is to use this type of samples in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) chips for in situ transmission electron microscopy heating/biasing experiments, concomitant with maintaining the mechanical integrity and the absence of contamination of samples. This is accomplished through a modification of the standard FIB procedure for the preparation of lamellas, the adaptation of conventional chips, as well as the specific transfer of the lamella onto the chips. This method is versatile enough to be implemented in most commercially available FIB systems and MEMS chips.
