Ten years of the helium ion microscope
Dr. Gregor Hlawacek, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
Dr. Annalena Wolff, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Throughout the last decade, the helium ion microscope (HIM) has emerged as a versatile tool, supporting research across a broad range of applications. From its initial beginnings as an imaging tool, the HIM quickly established itself as an instrument of choice not only for nanoscale imaging but also for nanofabrication, due to its sub-10 nm structuring capability. Today multiple ion species (He, Ne, Ga) as well as different gas chemistries are available. The recent addition of a secondary ion mass spectrometer has expanded the HIM’s capabilities with ion-beam-based nanoscale analytics, allowing the analysis of elements and isotopes with a lateral resolution as low as 10 nm. These new capabilities allow the HIM to excel in the fields of nanoscale imaging and chemical analysis (secondary ion mass spectroscopy), nanopatterning and nanolithography, as well as irradiation and defect engineering.
In this thematic issue we would like to highlight applications and technical developments that have contributed to the HIM’s success within the first decade of its operation. We cordially invite contributions discussing the broad range of HIM applications and instrumental developments. The submitted works may feature, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Imaging of insulating materials with charge compensation
- Surface sensitive imaging
- Semiconductors Ion-beam-based analysis in the HIM
- SIMS and HIM: In-situ and in-operando experiments
- Bioimaging, Nanofabrication, Helium ion lithography
- Materials engineering using He/Ne/Ga, defect engineering, ion–solid interactions
- Technique development: Analysis of geological and biological samples
- SQUIDS and plasmonics fabrication
- Modification of electric and magnetic properties with focused He and Ne ions Modification of 2D materials
Download all of the current publications in this thematic issue by clicking on "Download Issue".
3D superconducting hollow nanowires with tailored diameters grown by focused He+ beam direct writing
- Rosa Córdoba,
- Alfonso Ibarra,
- Dominique Mailly,
- Isabel Guillamón,
- Hermann Suderow and
- José María De Teresa
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1198–1206, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.104
An atomic force microscope integrated with a helium ion microscope for correlative nanoscale characterization
- Santiago H. Andany,
- Gregor Hlawacek,
- Stefan Hummel,
- Charlène Brillard,
- Mustafa Kangül and
- Georg E. Fantner
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1272–1279, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.111
Effect of localized helium ion irradiation on the performance of synthetic monolayer MoS2 field-effect transistors
- Jakub Jadwiszczak,
- Pierce Maguire,
- Conor P. Cullen,
- Georg S. Duesberg and
- Hongzhou Zhang
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1329–1335, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.117
Helium ion microscope – secondary ion mass spectrometry for geological materials
- Matthew R. Ball,
- Richard J. M. Taylor,
- Joshua F. Einsle,
- Fouzia Khanom,
- Christelle Guillermier and
- Richard J. Harrison
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1504–1515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.133
Out-of-plane surface patterning by subsurface processing of polymer substrates with focused ion beams
- Serguei Chiriaev,
- Luciana Tavares,
- Vadzim Adashkevich,
- Arkadiusz J. Goszczak and
- Horst-Günter Rubahn
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1693–1703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.151
Imaging and milling resolution of light ion beams from helium ion microscopy and FIBs driven by liquid metal alloy ion sources
- Nico Klingner,
- Gregor Hlawacek,
- Paul Mazarov,
- Wolfgang Pilz,
- Fabian Meyer and
- Lothar Bischoff
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1742–1749, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.156
Scanning transmission imaging in the helium ion microscope using a microchannel plate with a delay line detector
- Eduardo Serralta,
- Nico Klingner,
- Olivier De Castro,
- Michael Mousley,
- Santhana Eswara,
- Serge Duarte Pinto,
- Tom Wirtz and
- Gregor Hlawacek
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1854–1864, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.167
Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review
- Matthias Schmidt,
- James M. Byrne and
- Ilari J. Maasilta
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1
Imaging of SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells by helium ion microscopy
- Natalie Frese,
- Patrick Schmerer,
- Martin Wortmann,
- Matthias Schürmann,
- Matthias König,
- Michael Westphal,
- Friedemann Weber,
- Holger Sudhoff and
- Armin Gölzhäuser
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 172–179, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.13
Scanning transmission helium ion microscopy on carbon nanomembranes
- Daniel Emmrich,
- Annalena Wolff,
- Nikolaus Meyerbröker,
- Jörg K. N. Lindner,
- André Beyer and
- Armin Gölzhäuser
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 222–231, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.18
The patterning toolbox FIB-o-mat: Exploiting the full potential of focused helium ions for nanofabrication
- Victor Deinhart,
- Lisa-Marie Kern,
- Jan N. Kirchhof,
- Sabrina Juergensen,
- Joris Sturm,
- Enno Krauss,
- Thorsten Feichtner,
- Sviatoslav Kovalchuk,
- Michael Schneider,
- Dieter Engel,
- Bastian Pfau,
- Bert Hecht,
- Kirill I. Bolotin,
- Stephanie Reich and
- Katja Höflich
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 304–318, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.25
A review of defect engineering, ion implantation, and nanofabrication using the helium ion microscope
- Frances I. Allen
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 633–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.52
Is the Ne operation of the helium ion microscope suitable for electron backscatter diffraction sample preparation?
- Annalena Wolff
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 965–983, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.73
