The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 01, 2012
Filed:
Aug. 07, 2009
Aurélien Philippe Jean Maclou Botman, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Bert Henning Freitag, Eindhoven, NL;
Johannes Jacobus Lambertus Mulders, Eindhoven, NL;
Aurélien Philippe Jean Maclou Botman, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Bert Henning Freitag, Eindhoven, NL;
Johannes Jacobus Lambertus Mulders, Eindhoven, NL;
FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for producing high-quality samples for e.g. TEM inspection. When thinning samples with e.g. a Focused Ion Beam apparatus (FIB), the sample often oxidizes when taken from the FIB due to the exposure to air. This results in low-quality samples, that may be unfit for further analysis. By forming a passivation layer, preferably a hydrogen passivation layer, on the sample in situ, that is: before taking the sample from the FIB, high quality TEM samples can be produced.