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Metals and Alloys
Femtosecond (fs) laser technology integrated into FIB-SEM systems unlocks a new scale of productivity for metals and alloys by enabling millimeter-scale material removal at extremely high throughput—a capability far beyond what conventional FIB alone can achieve. While traditional ion milling is limited to small volumes and slow rates, the fs laser rapidly exposes large cross-sections and buried features in bulk metallic samples within minutes rather than hours. Crucially, this speed does not come at the expense of quality: ultrafast, athermal ablation minimizes heat-affected zones and preserves true microstructure, ensuring excellent sample quality for advanced techniques such as EBSD and EDS. Combined with precision (P)FIB polishing, this approach delivers both large-area access and nanoscale accuracy, dramatically accelerating workflows for alloy development, additive manufacturing, and failure analysis.
Helios 5 Laser FIB-SEM for advanced packaging and stacked device analysis
As the critical role of packaging and vertical scaling in performance of semiconductor devices becomes central, the increasing complexity of stacked devices with heterogenous layers and interconnect structures makes defect localization and failure analysis more challenging. The current and future dimensions of these architectures in some cases calls for massive material removal and millimeter-scale-depth access for direct visualization of defects within the package and the die itself. The Thermo Scientific Helios Laser System is an optimal solution for labs that routinely deal with volumes of this size, while the Helios Hydra and PFIB can confidently tackle cross-sectioning and 3D volume reconstruction even over hundreds of microns. Pair both together for ultimate material and scale flexibility across a broad range of semiconductor materials, with speed and target precision needed for failure analysis labs to meet the demands of this fast-paced industry.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.