The Precision Ion Polishing System (PIPS) is used for thinning and/or polishing of samples for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Since the ion polishing process is rather slow it is important that the samples are pre-thinned by e.g. mechanical grinding and polishing. The instrument is equipped with two ion guns using argon ions for sputtering and polishing. The operating angles of the guns are ± 10°, and the accelerating voltage can be varied between 0.1 kV to 6.0 kV. The PIPS can accept several different sample geometries but the standard shape of the sample is a 3 mm diameter disc. It is also possible to polish e.g. EBSD samples if 3 mm discs are prepared.