TESCAN EXLO™: Ex Situ Lift-Out for Scalable, High-Throughput TEM Specimen Preparation

Introduction
Typical Applications
Key Features
Typical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
EXLO Overview
Related Videos/Webinars
Contact & Support

Introduction

TESCAN EXLO™ is a high-precision ex situ lift-out system specifically engineered for laboratories requiring optimal throughput, high repeatability, and maximum cost-efficiency in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM/STEM) sample preparation workflows.

By moving the lift-out and mounting steps of thin specimens (lamellae) outside of the Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB-SEM) system, TESCAN EXLO™ frees up expensive beam time to focus entirely on the milling process. This parallel sample processing workflow significantly increases the overall throughput of the laboratory, alleviates the workload on the FIB-SEM system, and reduces the cost per TEM sample.

Typical Applications

TESCAN EXLO™ perfectly meets the high-density analysis requirements across several cutting-edge technology sectors:

Materials Science: Supports reliable sample lift-out for a wide variety of nanostructures and materials, ranging from hard metals to thermally sensitive substrates. Reduces the risk of ion beam (FIB) induced damage on sensitive materials through optimized peripheral sample transfer processes.
Semiconductors: High-throughput TEM sample preparation serving directly for process control, yield monitoring, and failure analysis (FA). Ensures high consistency across large sample batches for accurate fault diagnosis in semiconductor device development.
Nanotechnology: Enables precise manipulation of ultra-small structures, supporting advanced grid formats for structural characterization research at the atomic level.

Key Features

Uncompromised Throughput Optimization: Decouples the FIB sample milling process from the mechanical manipulation/lift-out stage. The coordinated workflow between automated preparation on the FIB-SEM (such as integration with TESCAN TEM AutoPrep Pro™ software) and ex situ lift-out with EXLO reduces the total processing time per sample by up to 20%.
Enhanced Equipment Utilization Efficiency: Maximizes the operating time of the FIB-SEM system for high-priority milling tasks, eliminating bottlenecks caused by performing in situ lift-out (inside the vacuum chamber).
Semi-Automated and Precise Control Mechanism: The motorized micromanipulator design ensures that lift-out operations are fast, highly reproducible, and less dependent on the manual skills of the operator.
Protection for Environmentally Sensitive Samples: Optional upgrade capabilities for integration with inert gas environments, vacuum, or cryo transfer solutions protect air-sensitive samples from oxidation, contamination, or structural degradation.
Flexible Mounting Configurations: Supports secure lamella mounting in both standard (top-down) and inverted configurations to accommodate flexible subsequent thinning methods.

Typical Specifications

The system is developed on two main platforms optimized for different sample sizes: EXLO 800™ and EXLO 1200™.

Technical Specifications	TESCAN EXLO 800™	TESCAN EXLO 1200™
Wafer / Sample Size Support	Up to 200 mm	Up to 300 mm
Stage Travel (X & Y)	Motorized 200 x 200 mm	Optimized design for 300 mm Wafers
Maximum Sample Height	170 mm	Optimized for the semiconductor industry
Micromanipulator	Motorized XYZ axes + manual R rotation (Optional addition of a 2nd XYZ stage)	Motorized XYZ axes + manual R rotation (Optional addition of a 2nd XYZ stage)
Multi-directional Repeatability (XYZ)	1 µm	1 µm
Travel Speed Range	1 µm/s to 5 mm/s	1 µm/s to 5 mm/s
Optical System	High-resolution, parfocal zoom microscope	High-resolution, parfocal zoom microscope
Horizontal Field of View (HFW)	60 µm to 3 mm	60 µm to 3 mm
Grid Compatibility	Cu, Ni, NCD notched grids; standard and inverted formats	Cu, Ni, NCD notched grids; standard and inverted formats
Workstation	Integrated PC, monitor, dedicated X-Keys Joystick	Premium ergonomic workstation with an active suspension dampening system

Advanced Optional Modules and Accessories:

Aspirato™ Module: Uses a hollow glass probe supported by vacuum suction for delicate sample manipulation without the need for adhesives/welding.
Pick&Place™ Holder Tray: Simplifies the safe loading, unloading, and storage of ex situ grids.
EXpressLO™ PGrids & Z-Grids: Specialized grid lines (including nanocrystalline diamond NCD material) that minimize overlapping X-ray signal interference in EDS analysis, improving data quality.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is the biggest difference between ex situ lift-out with EXLO and in situ lift-out inside the chamber?

A: *In situ* lift-out performs the entire milling and extraction process inside the vacuum chamber of the FIB-SEM instrument. While this process is easy to fully automate, it consumes valuable FIB-SEM beam time. TESCAN EXLO moves the mechanical lift-out stage outside to the laboratory optical environment, allowing for parallel processing (milling a new sample in the FIB-SEM while lifting out the previous sample on the EXLO), thereby increasing overall throughput by up to 20% and reducing the cost per sample preparation.

Q: Does the TESCAN EXLO system require an extremely highly skilled technician?

A: Although traditional ex situ methods require great manual dexterity from the operator, TESCAN EXLO overcomes this thanks to its motorized stage and micromanipulator design, controlled via intuitive graphic software and a high-precision joystick. The 1 µm positional repeatability makes the workflow straightforward and highly stable between operating sessions.

Q: Does the system support working with air- or temperature-sensitive samples?

A: Yes. TESCAN EXLO is flexibly designed to integrate with protective transfer shuttles in inert gas or vacuum environments, as well as cryo ex situ lift-out solutions, preventing sample oxidation or structural alteration to the maximum extent.

EXLO Overview

TESCAN EXLO™ represents a strategic advancement in optimizing resources for modern microstructure analysis centers. Instead of viewing TEM sample preparation as a series of linear sequential steps that waste the time of expensive equipment, EXLO restructures the workflow into a highly scalable parallel production line. With the strong support of a high-resolution optical microscope, micrometer-precision mechanical movement, and versatile grid compatibility, TESCAN EXLO is the key to helping semiconductor and materials science laboratories scale up their throughput to a new standard without having to invest in additional expensive FIB-SEM systems.