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ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 18 NO. 4
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PRODUCT NEWS
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as the battery was charging. With this method, each 3-D
pixel—called a voxel—produces a spectrum that is like a
chemical-specific “fingerprint” that identifies the chemi-
cal and its oxidation state in the position represented by
that voxel. Fitting together the fingerprints for all voxels
generates a chemical map in 3-D.
The scientists found that, during charging, the lithium-
iron phosphate transforms into iron phosphate but not at
the same rate throughout the battery. When the battery
is in the early stage of charging, this chemical evolution
occurs in only certain directions. However, as the battery
becomes more highly charged, the evolution proceeds in
all directions over the entire material.
“Were these images to have been taken with a stan-
dard 2-D method, we wouldn’t have been able to see
these changes,”Wang said. “Our unprecedented ability to
directly observe how the phase transformation happens
in 3-D reveals accurately if there is a new or intermediate
phase during the phase-transformation process. This
method gives us precise insight into what is happening
inside the battery electrode and clarifies previous ambi-
guities about the mechanism of phase transformation.”
Wang noted that modeling will help the team explore
the way the spread of the phase change occurs and how
the strain on the materials affects this process.
For more information: web: nature.com/articles/
ncomms12372.
FEI ANNOUNCES NEW SLICE & VIEW
SOFTWARE
FEI (Hillsboro, Ore.) announced the release of the
latest version of its Auto Slice & View 3-D reconstruction
software, which makes 3-D imaging faster, easier, more
accurate, and cost-effective. The software works with all
of FEI’s current DualBeam focused ion beam/scanning
electron microscope platforms to enable 3-D structure
and composition of samples at the nanometer scale.
DualBeamusers across all disciplines, includingmaterials
science, life sciences, semiconductors, andoil andgas, can
benefit from the new, enhanced software.
“FEI pioneered the development of the DualBeamand
its use to reconstruct 3-D structures,” said Jean-Bernard
Cazeaux, Vice President of FEI’s Applications Software
Group. “This latest version of our Auto Slice & View
software leverages our extensive experience to provide
a better tool to enable users to obtain the results they
need in a shortened timeframe and with limited effort.
Ultimately, the results provide a better representation
of all the information available from the sample volume
and significant improvements in laboratory productivity.”
FEI’s new Slice & View software 4.0 features several
enhancements:
• Productivity:
Imaging can be combinedwith analytical
capabilities, such as energy-dispersive x-ray spectrom-
etry and electronbackscatter diffraction, to ensure that
no information is lost in the sectioning of the sample.
Automated procedures can be modified on the fly,
with the capability of adding analytical signals if an
unexpected feature is revealed. Imaging and analysis
can be dynamically directed to selected areas of the
section or applied only on certain slices to save time.
Slice & View analyses can be performed at multiple
sites to allow long, unattended runs overnight or on
weekends. Advanced tiling and stitching capabilities
maintain high spatial resolution over sections larger
than a single field of view.
• Precision and accuracy
: Newalgorithms help to ensure
uniform thickness of the slices as well as precise and
reproducibleplacement of each cut, allowing for higher
accuracy.
• Ease of use:
A redesigned interface optimizes user guid-
ance and ensures that critical information is presented,
if needed. A promptedworkflowapproach streamlines
the setupof automatedprocedures, and any procedure
can be tagged as a template to serve as the basis for
future analyses.
Current users of version 3.0 can upgrade to the new
4.0 version.
For more information: web: fei.com/software/
auto-slice-and-view/.
FEI’s Auto Slice & View 4.0 imaging setup screen