Abstract

State-of-the-art focused ion beam (FIB) instruments have an ion column for sample modification and an electron column for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A 3D reconstruction of a sample volume can be achieved by generating serial sections using the FIB with subsequent high-resolution SEM imaging of each newly created section (“slice & view”). However, the process of serial sectioning with FIB is used not only for volumetric reconstruction of the microstructure, but is also the basis for quantitative 3D analytical methods, such as 3D electron backscatter diffraction (3D EBSD ) and 3D energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (3D EDS ). The the ability and accuracy of serial FIB sectioning was tested to enable efficient 3D reconstructions using SEM image data, and, preliminary data from both 3D analytical methods are shown and discussed.