Invited Paper AS-MoA8
The 3D Atom Probe Instrument - Introduction to the Technique and Some Applications in Material Science

Monday, October 15, 2007, 4:20 pm, Room 610

The 3D atom probe is a quantitative technique that provides atomic scale 3D element mapping of chemical heterogeneities in sample.¹ The sample has to be prepared in the form of a very sharp tip. Under the effect of high electrical field, the atoms at the surface are evaporated by field effect and projected on a position sensitive detector.² This detector allows the localization of the impacts in synchronism with the measurement of the time of flight of the evaporated atoms. At the end of the analysis, it is possible to rebuild in 3D near an atomic scale, the analyzed volume (typically 70nm x 70nm x 200nm), atom by atom. The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate the contribution of the 3D-AP in materials science. For this purpose, we will make first a brief introduction to the technique. Some results obtained with this technique will be shown in order to evaluate the contribution of the instrument in materials science (especially for quantification measurement). In the last part of the presentation, new developments and future applications of the instrument will be discussed and also we will make an insight to the sample preparation issue

¹D. Blavette et al., Nature 363 (1993) 432 - 434
²L. Renaud et al., Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Vo 477, Issues 1-3, 21 January 2002, 150-154