Electron and Focused Ion Beams in Thermal Science and Engineering

Focused-ion-beam (FIB) is a useful tool for defining nanoscale structures. High energy heavy ions inherently exhibit destructive nature. A less destructive tool has been devised by using electron beam. FIB is mainly considered as an etching tool, while electron beam can be used for deposition purpose. In this paper, both etching and deposition method are demonstrated for applications in thermal science. Thermal conductivity of nanostructures (such as carbon nanotubes) was measured by using the FIB (and electron beam) nanolithography technique. Boiling characteristics was studied in a submicron heater that could be fabricated by using FIB.