Productive Polishing TEM Sample Preparation Methodology Development

In this paper, three productive polishing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation methods are reported. The methods are studied to improve the efficiency and expand the application fields. Method 1 and 2 address expanding conventional polishing method application on same or similar pattern samples. Method 1 used a laser mark to identify one of the sample; and method 2 used a Pt coated glass inserted between samples or a direct deposition of Pt on one of the samples. Method 3 was developed facilitate stacking three or more samples into a single, batch process block and improved the efficiency greatly.