Coordinated isotopic and mineralogic analyses of planetary materials enabled by in situ lift-out with a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope

Abstract

We describe a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) technique that enables coordinated isotopic and mineralogic analysis of planetary materials. We show that site specific electron-transparent sections can be created and extracted in situ using a microtweezer and demonstrate that they are amenable to analysis by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These methods greatly advance the ability to address several fundamental questions in meteoritics, such as accretion and alteration histories of chondrules and the origin and history of preserved nebular and presolar materials.