MODEL 2050

On-Axis Rotation Tomography
HolderAccepts either rod- or cone-shaped specimens androtates them fully through 360º about the axis of
the holder.

• Ideal for specimens prepared by focusedion beam (FIB)• Ideal for atom probe tomography (APT)and field ion microscopy (FIM) specimens
PLASMA CLEANING
Fischione recommends that you clean thespecimen and specimen holder with the
Fischione Model 1020 Plasma Cleaner orModel 1070 NanoClean before insertion
into the TEM.
During collection of tomographic data,
the electron beam will be on the same
area of the specimen for an extended
time. As a result, organic contamination
may build up on the specimen. A plasma
cleaning time of 10 seconds to 2 minutes
removes the contamination. Longer
cleaning times can remove contamination
spots caused by previous TEM viewing of
non-plasma cleaned specimens.
When not in use, the holders should be
stored under vacuum in Fischione Model
9010 Vacuum Storage Containers or the
Model 9020 Vacuum Pumping Station.

• Allows 360° image acquisition andtomographic reconstruction without theloss of information due to the missingwedge• Three-position index allows precise axial
rotation of the specimen• Compatible with all pole-piece gap
geometries

M O D E L 2050 O n - A x is Ro t a t io n To m o gra p hy H o l d e rHighly innovative holder for rod orcone specimens
The highly innovative Model 2050 On-Axis
Rotation Tomography Holder accepts either rodor cone-shaped specimens and rotates them fully
through 360° about the axis of the holder.
The preparation of rod or conical specimens is
an extension of conventional TEM methodology
which has historically been associated with a
3 mm diameter disk specimen. With the adventof electron
tomography,
On-axis rotation
combinedyields the maximum with advances
amount of datain specimen
from the specimen
preparation
technology, it
became necessary to develop a specimen geometry
and holder to optimize three-dimensional
tomographic information from the specimen.

On-axis rotation – no information loss
Traditionally, single axis tomography results ina missing wedge of information and dual-axis
tomography results in a missing pyramid of
information. On-axis rotation tomography yields
results without the loss of any information, thus
providing the maximum achievable amount ofdata from the specimen.

Operation
The On-Axis Rotation Tomography Holder
features a cylindrical specimen cartridge into
which a specimen post is inserted. Specimen posts
are available in a diameter of either 1.8 mm toaccept common atom probe field ion microscope(APFIM) specimen mounts or 1 mm to accept
focused ion beam- (FIB) prepared specimens.
In the case of FIB, lift-out techniques are used
to transport and attach a thick specimen to thetip of the specimen post. Then the specimen isfurther FIB-milled into a rod or cone shape andto electron transparency. The specimen post
E.A. FISCHIONE INSTRUMENTS, INC.

is clamped into the specimen cartridge. The
specimen cartridge precisely fits within the bodyof the holder and is accurately aligned with the
eucentric plane of the microscope. The cartridge
is rigidly affixed to a mechanism that both moves
along and rotates about the axis of the holder.
A dedicated loading station facilitates the
positioning of the cartridge into the holder. Oncethe specimen cartridge has been loaded into
the holder, longitudinal movement is manuallyactivated to retract the loaded cartridge into thebody of the holder. This protects the specimen
during holder insertion in to and removalfrom the TEM goniometer. Once the On-Axis
Rotation Tomography Holder is removed fromits loading station, the cartridge is mechanicallyinterlocked into the holder so that it cannot
become separated while the holder is in the
microscope.
Initially, the specimen can be fully rotatedthrough 360° to select the proper specimenorientation. A stop is then engaged, which fixes
the continuous rotation of the specimen withrespect to the holder. A three-position precision

FIB FOR TEM SPECIMENPREPARATION
The focused ion beam (FIB) instrument
has become an extremely useful tool
for TEM specimen preparation. It
allows precise positioning of the areaof interest within the bulk material. In
addition, its sophisticated software
control allows the specimen to be
extracted from the bulk in the shapeof a rod or cone with a substantial
area being electron transparent. The
Fischione Model 1040 NanoMill®
TEM specimen preparation system
can readily provide additional
specimen thinning to remove
amorphization or Ga implantation.

3

M O D E L 2050 O n - A x is Ro t a t io n To m o gra p hy H o l d e r

indexing mechanism provides
the means to orient the
specimen in 120° increments.
At each increment, while
keeping the specimen position
fixed with respect to the holder,the microscope’s goniometeris tilted to ± 60° to acquire a
tomographic tilt series. Indexing
the rotation of the specimen by
120° two more times, combinedwith the ± 60° goniometer
tilt, yields data corresponding
to 360° of specimen rotation.
This procedure maximizes
the amount of tomographic
data obtained from a single
specimen.
Following TEM imaging andanalysis, the specimen cartridge
can be removed from the holder
and securely stored in a storagebox which can also be used tosafely transport the specimens.

Touch protection
Fischione’s Advanced
Tomography Holders arecompatible with the TEM’s
touch-alarm that stops
goniometer movement in theevent that a pole touch occurs.
Always be aware of the TEM’spole piece configurationand follow the microscope
manufacturer’s recommendationfor operating the goniometer at
high-tilt angles.

ATOM PROBE FIELD ION MICROSCOPY
The atom probe field ion microscope (APFIM) combines
the principles of both time-of-flight mass spectroscopy
and point projection microscopy. The APFIM is able toidentify individual elements and to locate them within
the bulk material at the atomic level.
The atom probe specimen is a small pointed tip witha radius of approximately 100 nm or less. In essence,
whereas a typical TEM specimen is thin in one
dimension, a typical APFIM specimen is thin in two
dimensions.
Once the specimen is inserted into the APFIM, a
positive voltage applied to the tip creates a very highelectric field that strips electrons from surface atoms
and accelerates the resultant ions toward the imaging
detector.
Lighter ions reach the detector more quickly than theirheavier counterparts. To accurately measure the time ofion departure, the positive voltage is typically pulsed.
The arrival time of the ion is recorded on the single
particle detector. The time-of-flight of the ion yields
elemental identity.
This process of field evaporation provides a threedimensional image of the evaporated specimen. For
optimal atom probe tomography, it is advantageous tocorrelate results with TEM images of the area of interest
within the specimen, which means a suitable specimen
holder such as Fischione’s is important.

Ordering information
All Fischione Advanced
Tomography Holders comewith a dedicated loading
station for secure specimen

E.A. Fischione Instruments, Inc.
9003 Corporate Circle
Export, PA 15632 USA
Tel: +1 724.325.5444
Fax: +1 724.325.5443
info@fischione.com
www.fischione.com

handling, tools to assist in
specimen clamping, and a
Fischione Model 9010 Vacuum
Storage Container for storing
the holder in a clean, vacuum
environment.

©2015 E.A. Fischione Instruments, Inc. All rights reserved.
Document Number PB2050 Revision 02 09/2015