Tescan Recognized for Advancing Plasma FIB Workflows With 2025 R&D 100 Award

Tescan has received a 2025 R&D 100 Award in the Analytical/Test category for its TESCAN AMBER X 2, Powered by Mistral™ Plasma FIB column. The recognition highlights how this platform reshapes nanoscale research workflows by combining large-scale 3D materials characterization with precise TEM specimen preparation in a single system.

Community validation for discovery-driven solutions

Now in its 63rd year, the R&D 100 Awards are among the most respected global honors for science and innovation. Winners are selected by an international judging panel of industry experts who evaluate novelty, impact, and practical applications across fields from materials science to energy.

“Recognition from the R&D 100 Awards is first and foremost validation from the people who matter most to us — the scientists and researchers driving discovery every day,” says Jean-Charles Chen, CEO of Tescan Group. “This achievement is not only a source of pride for our teams but a confirmation that our focus on integrated, outcome-based solutions is aligned with the needs of the community we serve.”

The awards will be presented at a ceremony on November 20, 2025, at the Marriott at McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Plasma FIB-SEM, Redefined

The TESCAN AMBER X 2 with the Mistral™ plasma FIB column was designed to overcome a long-standing challenge for customers: the inability to prepare high-quality TEM specimens and quickly prepare large-scale cross-sectioning on a single system. Traditional plasma FIBs offered speed but lacked the precision, resolution, and fine-object visibility at low keV required for delicate work. At the same time, because Xe is inert, the system avoids Ga⁺ contamination, ensuring the highest specimen quality for e.g. materials STEM analysis.

The Mistral™ plasma FIB column achieves exceptional milling precision by focusing the Xe⁺ beam into a finely defined probe, using a uniquely engineered Xe source and optimized optics. The result is not only an improved spot size, but also a sharper beam shape with clean edges and minimal artifacts. Together, these advances enable up to 30% faster milling compared to older generations of Xe plasma FIB. while still delivering clean thinning of TEM specimens without Ga+ contamination.

Coupled with the BrightBeam™ 2 SEM column, the platform delivers market-leading number of contrast methods for detailed 3D sample characterization. BrightBeam™ 2 achieves exceptional resolution without inducing magnetic fields at the specimen surface, enabling high-sensitivity imaging of all materials—including magnetic materials such as metals. Designed as a fully multimodal platform, AMBER X 2 also supports seamless integration of EDS, EBSD, and TOF-SIMS into slice-and-view FIB-SEM tomography workflows. This allows users to explore any material in depth—correlating composition, topography, material contrasts, and chemistry within a single unified nanoscale 3D dataset.

This combination opens new possibilities in semiconductor research, energy storage materials, and nanostructure analysis by accelerating the path from bulk sample to nanoscale insight.

“With AMBER X 2 we wanted to address a long-standing barrier in plasma FIB: the lack of low-energy precision for the most demanding applications. Users should not have to choose between speed and precision.” says Anne Delobbe, Ph.D., CTO of Tescan. “By optimizing the column design for both high-current milling, accurate beam shapes, and stable low-keV operation, we have enabled researchers to move seamlessly between volume analysis and delicate TEM lamella preparation within one instrument.”

Built for the people behind discovery

For Tescan, the award affirms its ongoing transformation from instrument maker to a solution-driven enabler of scientific discovery. By reducing workflow complexity, minimizing transfer steps, and integrating multimodal analysis, AMBER X 2 demonstrates how outcome-oriented engineering serves the practical needs of research labs worldwide.

As Jean-Charles Chen concludes: “Awards feel great, but the true measure of success is how our solutions help scientists move faster from question to result. This recognition assures us we are on the right path.”