title: TEM sample preparation by femtosecond laser machining and ion milling for high-rate TEM straining experiments.
abstract: To model mechanical properties of metals at high strain rates, it is important to visualize and understand their deformation at the nanoscale. Unlike post mortem Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), which allows one to analyze defects within samples before or after deformation, in situ TEM is a powerful tool that enables imaging and recording of deformation and the associated defect motion during mechanical loading. Unfortunately, all current in situ TEM mechanical testing techniques are limited to quasi-static strain rates. In this context, we are developing a new test technique that utilizes a rapid straining stage and the Dynamic TEM (DTEM) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The new straining stage can load samples in tension at strain rates as high as 4×103/s using two piezoelectric actuators operating in bending while the DTEM at LLNL can image in movie mode with a time resolution as short as 70ns. Given the piezoelectric actuators are limited in force, speed, and displacement, we have developed a method for fabricating TEM samples with small cross-sectional areas to increase the applied stresses and short gage lengths to raise the applied strain rates and to limit the areas of deformation. In this paper, we present our effort to fabricate such samples from bulk materials. The new sample preparation procedure combines femtosecond laser machining and ion milling to obtain 300µm wide samples with control of both the size and location of the electron transparent area, as well as the gage cross-section and length.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Voisin
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Grapes
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD 21005, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lorenzo
authors.affiliation: US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD 21005, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ligda
authors.affiliation: US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD 21005, USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Weihs
keywords: Dynamic TEM; Femtosecond laser machining; High strain rate; In situ transmission electron microscopy; Sample preparation