Plasma Focused Ion Beam and Gallium Focused Ion Beam Microscopes

This notice has been issued as a revision of notice 2022/S 000-035764 published on 16th December 2022. This notice contained incorrect weightings on the technical and cost criteria.

The IAC at UoB has identified a need to procure a Plasma-Focused Ion Beam (PFIB) system, which allows for:

• Dual-beam capability with field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEGSEM) and plasma-based focused ion beam,
• Micromachining with high milling rates,
• Sample liftout (size reduction),
• Tomography with analytical capability – integrating energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) bought separately from a third party supplier,
• Gas injection using XeF2 enhanced etch, insulator, platinum and carbon, with options of other gas species.
• Cryogenic stage and vacuum transfer capability,
• Preparation of specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) while minimising FIB-induced damage, atom probe tomography (APT) and micromechanical testing.
• Electrical feedthroughs for in-situ characterisation (minimum four channels for four-point resistance measurements).

In addition to the procurement of the PFIB instrument, UoB would like to also as part of this call upgrade the gallium focused ion beam (Ga-FIB) capability of the IAC facility, by procurement of a new Ga-FIB instrument, with the capability for:

• Dual-beam capability with FEGSEM and gallium focused ion beam
• Micromachining and imaging,
• Microcantilever manipulation of specimens for TEM, APT and micromechanical liftouts,
• Gas injection using XeF2 enhanced etch, insulator and organo-metallics containing platinum, with options of other gas species.

Both of these instruments will be utilized within the Interface Analysis Centre (IAC) microscopy and materials facility at UoB, which will be used by a large number of researchers from a large number of UK, European and worldwide Universities, Research Institutes and Industry, thus the equipment and associated software must be simple and straightforward to use, robust and also be sufficiently interlocked to protect the system against accidental misuse.