TEM really isn't the right tool for reversing large integrated circuits. The sample prep is too finicky and involves slicing out a razor-thin sliver of material

TEM really isn't the right tool for reversing large integrated circuits. The sample prep is too finicky and involves slicing out a razor-thin sliver of material to image. You'd use it to get atomic resolution images of say a single transistor, maybe. SEM with serial sectioning is the way to go. I'm sure people are using conventional SEMs for this already, but you could conceivably map entire circuits at high resolution (4nm) pretty quickly with one of the new multi-beam systems. Check out the SRAM cells on slide 17 o this SANDIA report (pdf warning) [0]. [0]: https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/1296536 https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/1296536