Ultra-sharp needles (around 10Formula: see textnm) are essential in many applications, including electron tomography (ET), atomic probe tomography (APT), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). However, the techniques to produce an ultra-fine needle and the underlying mechanism still remain elusive. Here, with the parallel ion beams in the focused ion beam (FIB) system, we have advanced our methodological investigation of needle sharpening for ET, producing needles with a tip diameter of around 10Formula: see textnm, free from artifacts. The relative sputtering yields as a function of angle of incidence and energy are calculated using Yamamura’s model, which agrees with our experimental results and observations. The sharpened needles provide significant benefits for ET and enhancing imaging reliability.
Awais et al. (Fri,) studied this question.