Focused ion beams in biology: How the helium ion microscope and FIB/SEMs help reveal nature's tiniest structures (Conference Abstract)

Focused Ion Beam (FIB) devices such as the Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) as well as FIB/SEMs have sparked great interest within the biological sciences in recent years. The HIM allows high resolution imaging of uncoated non-conductive samples while the FIB/SEM (FIB/SEMs combine a focused ion beam with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)) allows to prepare TEM lamellae, 3D reconstruct the sample or reveal sub surface structures with nanometre precision. FIB/SEMs have become the “go to” tool in the materials sciences and semiconductor industry. Despite these unique capabilities, it is not yet fully established in the biological sciences [1-3]. This is predominantly due to the heat-induced damage from the ion beam when processing soft materials including biological samples.