Focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy in biology.
Since the end of the last millennium, the focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) has progressively found use in biological research. This instrument is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an attached gallium ion column and the 2 beams, electrons and ions (FIB) are focused on one coincident point. The main application is the acquisition of three-dimensional data, FIB-SEM tomography. With the ion beam, some nanometres of the surface are removed and the remaining block-face is imaged with the electron beam in a repetitive manner. The instrument can also be used to cut open biological structures to get access to internal structures or to prepare thin lamella for imaging by (cryo-) transmission electron microscopy. Here, we will present an overview of the development of FIB-SEM and discuss a few points about sample preparation and imaging.
Electron Microscopy Facility, University of Lausanne, Biophore, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Kizilyaprak
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Daraspe
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Humbel
D016591:Histocytological Preparation Techniques; D008099:Liver / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
Electron tomography; FIB-SEM tomography; focused ion beam scanning electron microscope