Preface
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Abbreviations
Chapter 1. History of APT and LEAP
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Ancestry of the Local Electrode Atom Probe
1.2.1 Early History and the Field Electron Emission Microscope (~1935)
1.2.2 Field Ion Microscope: The First Images of Atoms (1955)
1.2.3 Atom Probe Field Ion Microscope (1967)
1.2.4 The Advent of Atom Probe Tomography
1.2.5 The Position Sensitive Atom Probe (1988)
1.2.6 Electron Beam Pulsed Atom Probe
1.2.7 The Scanning Atom Probe
1.2.8 The Local Electrode Atom Probe (2001)
1.3 The State of Instrumentation
1.3.1 The Growth of the Local Electrode Atom Probe
1.3.2 Laser Pulsing
1.3.3 Fundamental Considerations for Design of Instrumentation
1.3.4 Reflectron-Based Instruments
1.4 FIB-Based Specimen Preparation
1.5 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 2. Specimen Preparation
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Electropolishing
2.3 Needles versus Microtips
2.4 Electrostatic Discharge Considerations
2.5 Focused Ion Beam Methods
2.5.1 Capping Considerations & Damage
2.5.2 Standard Lift-Out Process
2.5.3 Sharpening Process
2.5.4 FIB Deprocessing
2.6 Hybrid Transmission Electron Microscopy / Atom Probe Tomography
2.7 Summary
References
Chapter 3. Design & Instrumentation
3.1 Introduction
3.2 How Atom Probes Work
3.3 LEAP Performance Parameters
3.3.1 Field of View
3.3.2 Mass Resolving Power
3.3.3 Data Collection Rate
3.3.4 Model Comparison
3.4. Instrumentation in the LEAP
3.4.1 Local Electrode
3.4.2 Detection and Imaging
3.4.3. Transfer and Storage of Consumables
3.4.4. Field Evaporation Systems
3.4.5 Ancillary Systems
3.5 Summary
References
Chapter 4. Data Collection
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Data Quality Considerations
4.3 Analysis Yield Considerations
4.4 Experimental Parameters
4.5 How to Start Your Investigation of Any New Material
4.6 Brief Overview of LEAP Operation: Data Collection
4.6.1 Voltage Acquisition
4.6.2 Laser Acquisition
4.6.3 Now You Are Atom Probing
References
Chapter 5. Data Processing and Reconstruction
5.1 Introduction
5.2 A Word on Data Files and Work Flow
5.3 Conversion from Detector Space to Specimen Space Coordinates
5.3.1 Selection of Depth and Areal Regions
5.3.2 Spectral Calibration
5.3.3 Chemical Identification & Ranging
5.3.4 Spatial Reconstruction: Projection and Depth Scaling
5.3.5 Wide Angle Reconstruction Protocols
5.3.6 Tangential Discontinuity
5.3.7 Reconstruction Explorer
5.3.8 Creation of ROOT and POS Files
5.4 Discussion of Spatial Resolution and Spatial Positioning
5.4.1 Spatial Resolution
5.4.2 Spatial Positioning (Non-Specimen Dependent)
5.4.3 Spatial Positioning (Specimen Dependent)
5.5 A Word on Density Relaxation
5.6 Reconstruction Case Study: NIST Standard Reference Material 2134
5.6.1 Reconstruction Parameter Discussion
5.6.2 Experiment and Analysis Details
References
Chapter 6. Selected Analysis Topics
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Spectral Analysis
6.2.1 Ranging
6.2.2 Practical Considerations for Detection Levels
6.2.3 Peak Decomposition
6.3 Concentration Space Analyses
6.3.1 Gridding, Voxels, and Delocalization
6.3.2 Interface Creation and Interfacial Roughness
6.3.3 Effects of Delocalization on Planar Surfaces
6.3.4 The Proximity Histogram
6.4 Solute Analysis: Cluster Detection Method
6.5 Spatial Distribution Maps
6.6 Application of Spatial Distribution Maps
References
Chapter 7. Applications of the Local Electrode Atom Probe
7.1 Metals
7.2 Catalytic Materials
7.3 Ceramic and Geological Materials
7.4 Semiconductor Materials
7.5 Organics and Biological Materials
7.6 Composite Structures/Devices
7.7 Conclusions
References
Appendix A. Data File Formats
Appendix B. Field Evaporation
Appendix C. Reconstruction Geometry
Appendix D. Mass Spectral Performance
Appendix E. Additional Considerations for LEAP Operation
Glossary
Index
