Dimple Grinder User’s Guide
1
Dimple Grinder,
Model 656
1.0 Overview
The Gatan Model 656 Dimple Grinder is a precision instrument used to produce
circular dimples (spherical or flat-bottomed profile) in materials such as ceram-
ics, semiconductors, metals, and combinations thereof. The principle applica-
tion is in the preparation of TEM specimens. When specimens are mechanically
dimpled prior to final thinning, the finished specimen has a more uniform thick-
ness, has a larger than usual electron-transparent area, and is very robust with a
thick rim surrounding the central thin region. In the case of neutral-particle
beam-thinning systems, the time required for final thinning is significantly
reduced with dimpling.
With most metals, a 20-µm specimen can be obtained by dimpling and the
mechanical damage introduced into the specimen surface by the grinding action
is removed with additional final thinning by electro polishing, ion-beam thin-
ning, etc. A final specimen thickness of <5 µm can routinely be produced by a
careful operator.
The Dimple Grinder is gentle enough and provides sufficient control over the
process of dimpling that many materials, such as ceramics and semiconductors,
can be thinned below 3 µm with practically no mechanical damage and viewed
subsequently in intermediate- and high-voltage TEMs without further thinning.
Additionally, the electron-transparent area may be precisely positioned in the
specimen, laterally to within a few tens of microns and vertically to within a few
microns– not always possible with other dimpling instruments.
Other applications of the Dimple Grinder include the production of accurate,
precisely-located taper sections through the surface of specimens, which may
then be subjected to analytical techniques such as EDX, SIMS, Auger, etc. In
this way, compositional profiles of segregated surface layers, coatings, and plat-
ings can be obtained rapidly and with excellent “depth resolution.”
Summary of Contents for 656
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