After pre-processing the chips are examined. It's best to see that your specimen is ready...

...ready for the transmission electron microscope (TEM).

This bad boy is handy when you want to know transistor strain, gate oxide thicknesses, or crystal lattice orientation.

Like the ion blaster, the TEM uses the shoot-first-ask-questions-later method by blasting electrons at its prey to see just what they're made of.

We've had fun taking a tiny peek at Chipworks's playground, but we've got to move on before the anticipatory drool leads to a series of keyboard replacements.