Sample preparation for cross-sectional examination of coatings and thin films by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is the most critical step of this characterization technique. Without a sufficiently thin sample with a minimum of artifacts, some of the high-resolution imaging and analytical techniques available in the modern analytical TEM cannot be utilized. Frequently, the cross-sectional TEM (XTEM) sample preparation step requires special instrumentation, extensive technical skills, and long lead times. The small angle cleavage technique (SACT) has been successfully applied to various semiconductor materials. It has the advantage of being a very fast, inexpensive, and easy technique for XTEM sample preparation. In addition, it produces a sample with very clean surfaces without ion milling. In this paper, the technique will be briefly described. The technique can be easily accommodated into any specimen preparation laboratory. Results for single-layered and multi-layered coatings and thin films deposited on semiconductor and non-semiconductor substrates including Si, GaAs, sapphire, quartz, SiC, and glass are shown to illustrate the flexibility of the technique. The technique does not always work. Examples of materials systems in which it was not possible to make a suitable sample are given, and the reasons for the failure are discussed.