SEM image of a sharp manipulator probe lifting a thin lamella away from a trench during in-situ lift-out.
Materials Science

TEM Sample Preparation

Cut out and lift microscopic, electron-transparent lamellae for transmission electron microscopy, faster, more accurately and more reliably.

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Transmission electron microscopy needs electron-transparent specimens, and the focused-ion-beam lift-out that produces them is only as good as the manipulator that cuts the lamella free and carries it to a grid.

A high-precision micromanipulator makes that choreography fast, accurate and repeatable, run after run, inside the chamber. Start with the introduction, read how in-situ lift-out works, or watch a full lift-out filmed under the beam.

in situlift-out inside the SEM/FIB
<2 µmplacement reproducibility (MM3E)
0.25 nmmanipulator resolution
weld-freemounting with SemGlu
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Articles & videos

Short, focused reads and in-microscope footage — start with the introduction or jump to a technique.

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction to TEM sample preparation

Why electron-transparent lamellae are hard to make, and how in-situ lift-out makes it routine.

Introduction

Technical deep-dives

Technical

The in-situ lift-out workflow

Approach, attach, cut free, transfer and mount, the choreography of a clean FIB lift-out.

Technical

Video series

Video series

Lift-out, filmed inside the chamber

Full TEM lamella lift-outs and the iLO control software, recorded under the beam.

5 videos
Tools

Products used

The CryoLO cooled lift-out needle and cryo-MGS2 microgripper approaching a frozen TEM lamella in the FIB.
CryoLO

Cryo Lift-Out (CryoLO)

Cryogenic in-situ TEM-lamella lift-out — a cryoMGS-EM microgripper cooled to LN₂ temperature while the MM3A-EM itself stays at room temperature.

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The iLO control software interface — a dark Kleindiek panel with Lift-Out, Park and Standby buttons, MM3A/RoTip/Gripper selectors and XYZ/ABC coordinate fields.
iLO

iLO Control Software

The graphical lift-out control software — drag-and-drop positioning with automatic beam, rotation and magnification compensation.

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The MM3E micromanipulator — a compact three-axis arm in machined aluminium, brass and copper with a fine probe tip.
MM3E

MM3E

An encoded, closed-loop micromanipulator — define parking and working positions and recall them at the click of a button.

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An array of MM3A-EM manipulators with magenta drive coils converging towards a central point.
MM3A-EM

MM3A-EM

The industry-standard spherical micromanipulator — the platform every Kleindiek plug-in tool attaches to, with 3000+ units in the field.

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The nanolathe — a machined aluminium rotational-axis unit with a vertical collet at the top holding a fine needle sample upright.
RT-LATHE

Nanolathe (RT-LATHE)

A stand-alone rotational axis for true FIB lathe milling and tomography — spin a region of interest concentrically under the beam.

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The RoTip rotational-axis plug-in on a Kleindiek micromanipulator, its cylindrical axis holding a long tungsten probe tip.
RoTip-EM

RoTip

A rotational-axis plug-in that adds a fourth degree of freedom — continuous 0.1° rotation for true FIB lathe milling, tomography and STEM.

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Macro photograph of three glistening SemGlu adhesive droplets of increasing size on a tip against a green background.
SemGlu

SemGlu

A high-vacuum adhesive that cures only where you focus the beam — epoxy-grade bonds for in-SEM assembly and lift-out.

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Evidence

Related publications

All publications
2024Ultramicroscopy 260

Weld-free mounting of lamellae for electrical biasing operando TEM

Oscar Recalde-Benitez et al.

DOI 10.1016/j.ultramic.2024.113939
2023Communications Engineering 2

Operando two-terminal devices inside a transmission electron microscope

Oscar Recalde-Benitez et al.

DOI 10.1038/s44172-023-00133-9
2002European FIB Users Group Meeting (EFUG)

In-situ Lift-Out of TEM-Lamellae using a Compact and Precise Micromanipulator

Claus Burkhardt et al.

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