Introducing the PECS III and Ilion III Systems
PLEASANTON, CA (May 19, 2026) – Gatan, Inc., a business of AMETEK Inc. and a global leader in instrumentation that enhances and extends the performance of electron microscopes, today announced the launch of the PECS™ III and Ilion® III systems. These next generation, complementary solutions represent an important evolution of Gatan’s ion milling portfolio, delivering consistent, high quality sample preparation across a wide range of materials for advanced materials characterization and industrial laboratory workflows.
The PECS III precision etching and coating system is a broad beam ion milling solution engineered to produce consistent, low damage surfaces across semiconductors, battery materials, and advanced materials within a single, integrated workflow. Designed to address the growing complexity of modern samples, PECS III enables reliable preparation of multi material systems while reducing operator dependence and minimizing preparation induced artifacts.
PECS III improves throughput for challenging materials by delivering higher milling rates and enabling preparation of larger areas including 14 mm cross‑sections that are up to seven times wider than previous approaches. Its ability to generate highly uniform surfaces across large areas makes it well suited for analytical techniques such as EBSD, EDS, WDS, and cathodoluminescence, where surface quality directly impacts data accuracy and reproducibility.
Complementing these capabilities, the Ilion III system is a tabletop broad beam ion milling solution optimized for high quality cross section preparation across the diverse materials commonly encountered in industrial laboratory environments. Ilion III produces clean, damage free cross sections while preserving true microstructural detail, even in complex, heterogeneous, or mechanically fragile samples.
The Ilion III delivers high throughput material removal with milling rates of up to 800 µm/h, enabling rapid access to subsurface features and reducing time to analysis. Its broad ion beam energy range of 0.1 – 10 kV supports both efficient high energy material removal and low energy final polishing, resulting in smooth, low damage surfaces suitable for high resolution analysis.
“Sample preparation remains one of the most critical steps in materials characterization, directly influencing the accuracy and reliability of analytical results,” said Matt Nowell, Specimen Prep Product Manager. “With PECS III and Ilion III, we are delivering complementary solutions that address both large area surface preparation and high quality cross section milling within a consistent, predictable workflow.”
Together, PECS III and Ilion III provide a comprehensive approach to ion milling, supporting preparation of a wide variety of materials—from semiconductor devices and battery materials to advanced alloys and fragile structures—while improving reproducibility and minimizing preparation induced artifacts.
“By combining streamlined workflows, controllable milling conditions, and consistent output quality, these systems help users transition more efficiently from preparation to analysis, enabling greater confidence in results across both research and industrial applications,” added Stephen Mick, Director Global Sales and Product Management.
For further information, visit www.gatan.com.
About Gatan
Gatan is the world's leading manufacturer of instrumentation and software used to enhance and extend the operation and performance of electron microscopes. Gatan's products, which are fully compatible with all brands of electron microscopes, cover the entire range of the analytical process from specimen preparation and manipulation to imaging and analysis. Its customer base spans the complete spectrum of end-users of analytical instrumentation typically found in industrial, governmental, and academic laboratories.
These scientists and researchers address applications in new materials research, semiconductors, electronics, geosciences, biological science, and biotechnology. The Gatan brand name is recognized and respected throughout the worldwide scientific community and has been synonymous with high-quality products and the industry's leading technology. Gatan is a business of AMETEK, Inc., a leading global provider of industrial technology solutions serving a diverse set of attractive niche markets with annual sales of approximately $7.5 billion.