Application of atom probe tomography in understanding high entropy alloys: 3D local chemical compositions in atomic scale analysis

Atom probe tomography (APT) is often introduced as providing “atomic-scale” mapping of the composition of materials and as such is often exploited to analyze atomic neighborhoods within a material. Yet quantifying the actual spatial performance of the technique in a general case remains challenging, as it depends on the material system being investigated as well as on the specimen's geometry. Here, by using comparisons with field-ion microscopy experiments, field-ion imaging and field evaporation simulations, we provide the basis for a critical reflection on the spatial performance of APT in the analysis of pure metals, low alloyed systems and concentrated solid solutions (i.e., akin to high-entropy alloys). The spatial resolution imposes strong limitations on the possible interpretation of measured atomic neighborhoods, and directional neighborhood analyses restricted to the depth are expected to be more robust. We hope this work gets the community to reflect on its practices, in the same way, it got us to reflect on our work.

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Atomic Scale Analysis of Dopants in CMOS Structures by Atom Probe Tomography

Microscopy and Microanalysis ◽

10.1017/s1431927616008515 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (S3) ◽

pp. 1534-1535

Author(s):

Isabelle Martin ◽

Robert Estivill ◽

Marc Juhel ◽

Adeline Grenier ◽

Ty J. Prosa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atom Probe Tomography ◽

Atom Probe ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Scale Analysis

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Atomic-scale compositional characterization of a nanocrystalline AlCrCuFeNiZn high-entropy alloy using atom probe tomography

Acta Materialia ◽

10.1016/j.actamat.2013.04.059 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 61 (12) ◽

pp. 4696-4706 ◽

Cited By ~ 97

Author(s):

K.G. Pradeep ◽

N. Wanderka ◽

P. Choi ◽

J. Banhart ◽

B.S. Murty ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atom Probe Tomography ◽

Atom Probe ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

High Entropy Alloy ◽

High Entropy ◽

Compositional Characterization

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Atomic-Scale Analysis of Metamorphic Magnetite using Field Ion Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography

Microscopy and Microanalysis ◽

10.1017/s1431927604886616 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 10 (S02) ◽

pp. 512-513 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

K R Kuhlman ◽

T F Kelly ◽

M K Miller

Keyword(s):

Atom Probe Tomography ◽

Atom Probe ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Scale Analysis ◽

Field Ion Microscopy ◽

Ion Microscopy

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2004 in Savannah, Georgia, USA, August 1–5, 2004.

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Enabling near-atomic–scale analysis of frozen water

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abd6324 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (49) ◽

pp. eabd6324

Author(s):

A. A. El-Zoka ◽

S.-H. Kim ◽

S. Deville ◽

R. C. Newman ◽

L. T. Stephenson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Purity ◽

Atom Probe Tomography ◽

Atom Probe ◽

Atomic Scale ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Scale Analysis ◽

Deuterated Water ◽

Liquid Form ◽

Chemical Systems

Transmission electron microscopy went through a revolution enabling routine cryo-imaging of biological and (bio)chemical systems, in liquid form. Yet, these approaches typically lack advanced analytical capabilities. Here, we used atom probe tomography to analyze frozen liquids in three dimensions with subnanometer resolution. We introduce a specimen preparation strategy using nanoporous gold. We report data on 2- to 3-μm-thick layers of ice formed from both high-purity deuterated water and a solution of 50 mM NaCl in high-purity deuterated water. The analysis of the gold-ice interface reveals a substantial increase in the solute concentrations across the interface. We explore a range of experimental parameters to show that atom probe analyses of bulk aqueous specimens come with their own challenges and discuss physical processes that produce the observed phenomena. Our study demonstrates the viability of using frozen water as a carrier for near-atomic–scale analysis of objects in solution by atom probe tomography.

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