Chip surgery with a focused ion beam (FIB edit)
We cut a microscopic wire inside a chip with a focused ion beam then revived it with platinum gas.
Tiny Tapeout Team
•8 May 2026
Dr. Matt Venn
We cut a microscopic wire inside a chip with an ion beam, then brought it back to life with platinum gas!
Matt’s latest video is a collaboration with Mikhail at ZeptoBars, the only person he knows to own a FIB (focused ion beam) equipped electron microscope.
Together, they perform delicate surgical modifications on an open-source chip. Utilizing the focused ion beam microscope, the pair attempts to precisely sever and reconnect microscopic electrical traces while the hardware remains powered, exploring advanced techniques used for industrial chip diagnostics and prototype debugging.
Watch the video here.
For more incredible microscopy and chip analysis work, visit ZeptoBars.
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Last modified by Matt Venn on 31 July 2026. Commit 8a58a7f. Suggestions?