Helium Ions in an Aberration-corrected objective lens

What is it about?

Use of achromatic quadrupoles as the objective lens in the helium microscope, producing improved resolution at the smallest focii.

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Why is it important?

Because of the straight-line trajectories of ions, ion microscopy, including helium microscopy, has promise for the in-situ analysis of microcircuits, where circuits are becoming so small that scanning electron microscopes fail, and pieces must be cut out, thinned, and carried to transmission electron microscopes in order to be analysed .

Perspectives