Preparation of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy specimens of obliquely deposited magnetic thin films on a flexible tape

Abstract

In this article a method is described for preparing cross sections of obliquely deposited metal thin films on polymer substrates for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation. The layers of interest are brittle in nature and therefore it is difficult to obtain suitable TEM samples with conventional methods. Apart from the sample preparation method some details of the deposition technique will be elucidated.