Ion Beam Etching of Biological Material in the Scanning Electron Microscope

Abstract

An ion source has been designed to operate in the chamber of the Stereoscan scanning electron microscope and provides facilities for etching specimens in situ. The source is a demountable cold cathode discharge type requiring only simple control.The ion beam described above has been used to progressively etch away hard or resilient biological material. This is the first time that ion beam etching of botanical specimens has been followed inside the scanning microscope, and marks the beginning of a range of dynamic experiments using this form of instrumentation.