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Spatial Resolution in Atom Probe Tomography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2010

Baptiste Gault ,
Michael P. Moody ,
Frederic De Geuser ,
Alex La Fontaine ,
Leigh T. Stephenson ,
Daniel Haley  and
Simon P. Ringer
Baptiste Gault*
Affiliation:
Australian Key Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX13PH, United Kingdom
Michael P. Moody
Affiliation:
Australian Key Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Frederic De Geuser
Affiliation:
Science et Ingénierie des MAtériaux et Procédés (SIMaP) – UMR 5266 CNRS-Grenoble INP-UJF, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
Alex La Fontaine
Affiliation:
Australian Key Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Leigh T. Stephenson
Affiliation:
Australian Key Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Daniel Haley
Affiliation:
Australian Key Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Simon P. Ringer
Affiliation:
Australian Key Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article addresses gaps in definitions and a lack of standard measurement techniques to assess the spatial resolution in atom probe tomography. This resolution is known to be anisotropic, being better in-depth than laterally. Generally the presence of atomic planes in the tomographic reconstruction is considered as being a sufficient proof of the quality of the spatial resolution of the instrument. Based on advanced spatial distribution maps, an analysis methodology that interrogates the local neighborhood of the atoms within the tomographic reconstruction, it is shown how both the in-depth and the lateral resolution can be quantified. The influences of the crystallography and the temperature are investigated, and models are proposed to explain the observed results. We demonstrate that the absolute value of resolution is specimen specific.

Keywords

atom probe tomographyresolutiontomographic reconstructionspatial distribution mapstrajectory aberration
Type
Atom Probe Tomography
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 99 - 110
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2010

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References

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