Atom Probe Microscopy and its Future

1994 ◽  
Vol 332 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. F. Kelly ◽  
P. P. Camus ◽  
D. J. Larson ◽  
L. M. Holzman
Keyword(s):  
Materials Science ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Atomic Level ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Indispensable Tool ◽  
3D Information

ABSTRACTMuch of the current activity and excitement in materials science involves processing and understanding materials at the atomic scale. Accordingly, it is necessary for materials scientists to control and characterize materials at the atomic level. There are only a few microscopies that are capable of providing information about the structure of materials at the atomic level: the atom probe field ion microscope, the high resolution transmission electron microscope, and the scanning tunneling microscope. The three-dimensional atom probe (3DAP) determines the 3D location and elemental identity of each atom in a sample. It is the only technique that provides 3D information at the atomic scale.The origin and underlying concepts behind the 3DAP are described. Several examples of actual images from existing 3DAPs are shown with emphasis on nanometer-scale analysis. Current limitations of the technique and expected future developments in this form of microscopy are described. It is our opinion that 3D atomic-scale imaging will be an indispensable tool in materials science in the coming decades.

scholarly journals Si/Ge intermixing during Ge Stranski–Krastanov growth

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 2374-2382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Portavoce ◽  
Khalid Hoummada ◽  
Antoine Ronda ◽  
Dominique Mangelinck ◽  
Isabelle Berbezier
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Cylindrical Symmetry ◽  
Dislocation Nucleation ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

The Stranski–Krastanov growth of Ge islands on Si(001) has been widely studied. The morphology changes of Ge islands during growth, from nucleation to hut/island formation and growth, followed by hut-to-dome island transformation and dislocation nucleation of domes, have been well described, even at the atomic scale, using techniques such as scanning tunneling microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Although it is known that these islands do not consist of pure Ge (due to Si/Ge intermixing), the composition of the Ge islands is not precisely known. In the present work, atom probe tomography was used to study the composition of buried dome islands at the atomic scale, in the three-dimensional space. The core of the island was shown to contain about 55 atom % Ge, while the Ge composition surrounding this core decreases rapidly in all directions in the islands to reach a Ge concentration of about 15 atom %. The Ge distribution in the islands follows a cylindrical symmetry and Ge segregation is observed only in the {113} facets of the islands. The Ge composition of the wetting layer is not homogeneous, varying from 5 to 30 atom %.

scholarly journals Atom Probe Tomography Defines Mainstream Microscopy at the Atomic Scale

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Kelly ◽  
Keith Thompson ◽  
Emmanuelle A. Marquis ◽  
David J. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Atom Probe Tomography ◽  
Scanning Tunneling Microscope ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Process Equipment ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Surface Scanning ◽  
Single Atoms ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Electron Microscopes

When making a sculpture, it is the eyes that guide the hands and tools and perceive the outcome. In simple words, “in order to make, you must be able to see.” So too, when making a nanoelectronic device, it is the microscope (eyes) that guides the process equipment (hands and tools) and perceives the outcome. As we emerge into the century of nanotechnology, it is imperative that the eyes on the nanoworld provide an adequate ability to “see.” We have microscopies that resolve 0.02 nm on a surface (scanning tunneling microscope (STM)) or single atoms in a specimen (atom probe tomographs (APT) and transmission electron microscopes (TEM)).

On the Physics of Anomalies of Boron Nanosegregation at Dislocations in FeAl

2019 ◽  
Vol 391 ◽  
pp. 246-250
Author(s):  
Yuriy S. Nechaev ◽  
Andreas Öchsner
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Diffusion Processes ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Metallic Materials ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Ion Microscopy ◽  
And Diffusion

We present results of the constructive critical analysis and interpretation of some recent studies (Blavette, Sauvage, Wilde and others) at the atomic scale (using three-dimensional atom-probe field-ion microscopy) of impurity nanosegregation at dislocations, including “Cottrell atmospheres”, and grain boundaries in deformed intermetallics and metallic materials, and their relevance to mechanical properties and diffusion processes.

The Application of Atom-Probe Techniques in Materials Science and Technology

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Brian Ralph ◽  
A.R. Waugh ◽  
S.A. Hill ◽  
M.J. Southon ◽  
M.P. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Original Form ◽  
Surface Process ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Field Ion Microscope ◽  
Imaging Atom Probe

This brief review attempts to summarize the main uses to which the atom-probe field-ion microscope and its variants have been put in the examination of materials. No attempt is made to produce a comprehensive list of all the studies made to date, rather the type of application is illustrated from recent studies.The original form of the field-ion microscope was really limited to the acquisition of geometrical and crystallographic information on the fine scale distribution of defects and phases (e.g. 1). Even in these early applications, the study proved considerably more fruitful when other microstructural techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy, were applied in parallel. The advent of the atom-probe (AP) and imaging atom-probe (IAP) instruments allowed precise microchemical information to be obtained and these instruments have now been used for a number of detailed investigations of materials. In the main, these have divided into (I) studies of surface process and films (e.g. 2) and (II) investigations of phase distributions and segregation in the bulk (e.g. 3).

SHaRE: Collaborative materials science research

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 804-805
Author(s):  
Edward A. Kenik ◽  
Karren L. More
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Analytical Electron Microscopy ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Analytical Electron ◽  
Electron Microscopes

The Shared Research Equipment (SHaRE) Program provides access to the wide range of advanced equipment and techniques available in the Metals and Ceramics Division of ORNL to researchers from universities, industry, and other national laboratories. All SHaRE projects are collaborative in nature and address materials science problems in areas of mutual interest to the internal and external collaborators. While all facilities in the Metals and Ceramics Division are available under SHaRE, there is a strong emphasis on analytical electron microscopy (AEM), based on state-of-the-art facilities, techniques, and recognized expertise in the Division. The microscopy facilities include four analytical electron microscopes (one 300 kV, one 200 kV, and two 120 kV instruments), a conventional transmission electron microscope with a low field polepiece for examination of ferromagnetic materials, a high voltage (1 MV) electron microscope with a number of in situ capabilities, and a variety of EM support facilities. An atom probe field-ion microscope provides microstructural and elemental characterization at atomic resolution.

Prospects for compositional imaging with the atom probe microscope

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1616-1617
Author(s):  
T. F. Kelly ◽  
P. P. Camus ◽  
J. J. McCarthy ◽  
D. J. Larson ◽  
L. M. Holzman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Compositional Analysis ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Acquisition Rate ◽  
3D Data ◽  
Probe Microscope ◽  
Position Sensitive ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

For the purposes of analytical characterization on the atomic scale, the ultimate instrument would identify every atom in a sample and determine its position with atomic-scale resolution. The recently developed positionsensitive atom probe (POSAP) comes as close as yet possible to this goal. This is the only experimental technique which can analyze the three-dimensional (3D) composition of a sample on a sub-nanometer scale.By adding a position-sensitive detector (PSD) to a conventional atom probe/field ion microscope, a 3D data structure with position-correlated compositional analysis is acquired. The 3D data are stored on a computer and may be examined for structural and compositional information at an atomic level. Note that, because it uses time-of-flight mass spectroscopy, all elements and their isotopes are detected in this way with equal proficiency. Usually, the evaporation rate is mediated by pulsing the field on the specimen. This approach, however, severely limits the data acquisition rate (about 1 atom per second) and mass resolution (about 1 part in 30).

New Developments in Atom Probe Techniques and Potential Applications to Materials Science

MRS Bulletin ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didier Blavette ◽  
Alain Menand
Keyword(s):  
Materials Science ◽  
Ion Irradiation ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Heavy Ion ◽  
Real Space ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Crystallographic Structure ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Image Position

The emergence of the field ion microscope, invented by E.W. Müller in 1951, allowed, for the first time, direct observation of metallic materials in real space on an atomic scale. Field ionization of rare gas atoms near the surface of the material allowed production of an atomic resolution image of the material; field evaporation of surface atoms allowed observation into the depth of the sample.Field ion microscopy (FIM) has produced numerous impressive results, one of them being three-dimensional reconstruction of defect cascades produced by heavy ion irradiation in metals. FIM techniques have also contributed in a spectacular way to the knowledge of the crystallographic structure of grain boundaries. Surface diffusion as well as surface reconstruction phenomena are applications where, again, FIM gave surprisingly detailed information. This overview of applications of FIM in materials science emphasizes recent work. Detailed information and descriptions of earlier work can be found elsewhere.During the development of FIM techniques, the basic shortcomings of the instrument for investigating metallic alloys were rapidly recognized. In Cu3Pd alloys, for instance, Cu atoms are darkly imaged and therefore appear as vacancies similar to Co atoms in PtCo and Pt3Co. It is thus impossible to distinguish vacancies from solute atoms. This clearly limited the quantitative use of FIM to study short-rangeorder in dilute alloys or to investigate long-range order (Figure 1). Similarly, in two-phase materials, precipitates often give rise to quite visible contrast. For instance, in nickel-based alloys, aluminum-enriched precipitates appear in bright contrast. It is therefore possible to find the size and also the number density of particles present in the material. However, FIM does not provide any composition data.

Chemical and Structural Characterization of γ/γ′ Interfaces

2012 ◽  
Vol 463-464 ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Kai Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Atom Probe Tomography ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Scanning Transmission ◽  
Nickel Base

More attention has been paid to the interfaces since mechanical properties of nickel-base superalloys are determined to some degree by them. The compositional transition across γ/γ′ interfaces and atomic structure of the interfaces was investigated using three-dimensional atom probe tomography and scanning transmission electron microscope equipped with high-resolution Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry. Results show that no obvious segregation to the interfaces or ledges of the precipitates in the present experimental alloys has been observed. Also, adsorption of a solute to the interface was not observed. The interfaces are not flat as usually thought at an atomic scale. The interfacial thickness is about two atomic layers, i.e. 0.7 nm.

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