Recent Advances in FIB-SEM for Microstructural Characterization of Metallic Materials

Since its introduction, focused ion beam (FIB) technology has expanded from micro/nanofabrication in the semiconductor industry into the field of multimodal characterization of metallic material microstructures. This article systematically reviews the latest research advances of FIB-SEM technology in the field of metallic materials science. The fundamental principles and system functions of FIB-SEM are introduced, with emphasis on its key applications in two-dimensional and three-dimensional morphological characterization, as well as specimen preparation for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). The combined strategies of FIB-SEM with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), and other characterization techniques are also discussed. Current developments indicate that FIB-SEM technology is advancing toward multi-ion-source synergy and multimodal integration. In the future, combined with artificial intelligence and big data analysis, it is expected to enable high-throughput, correlative measurements of multidimensional properties at the micro-scale, providing important technical support for "materials genome" research in metallic materials.