chemically assisted ion beam etching (caibe) and ion beam polishing (very low angle ion milling) are two new techniques complementary to the conventional inert gas ion milling method in the field of tem specimen preparation of materials. they facilitate the preparation of difficult specimens. in the caibe system a collimated, molecular beam of a reactive species is employed in combination with a conventional inert gas ion beam for thinning specimens. both solid source, e.g. iodine, and gas source, e.g oxygen containing compound versions, are now available. the two versions are described and examples presented. in the ion beam polishing technique, very low milling angles, down to 1 degrees , are employed to overcome the problems of differential milling rates and to obtain highly ion polished surfaces. this is achieved using a new specimen holder which was originally designed for the caibe system. the beneficial effects of ion beam polishing in the tem specimen preparation of several multilayered materials, metallic thin films as well as powders and fibers are reported