Dynamic reconstruction for atom probe tomography

Abstract

Progress in the reconstruction for atom probe tomography has been limited since the first implementation of the protocol proposed by Bas et al. in 1995. This approach and those subsequently developed assume that the geometric parameters used to build the three-dimensional atom map are constant over the course of an analysis. Here, we test this assumption within the analyses of low-alloyed materials. By building upon methods recently proposed to measure the tomographic reconstruction parameters, we demonstrate that this assumption can introduce significant limitations in the accuracy of the analysis. Moreover, we propose a strategy to alleviate this problem through the implementation of a new reconstruction algorithm that dynamically accommodates variations in the tomographic reconstruction parameters.

A Brief Comment on Atom Probe Tomography Applications

“…These aberrations are limited to atoms near the interface over distances close to three interatomic distances. Although 3D reconstruction procedure has been proposed to overcome the local magnification, the application is limited (Gault et al, 2011;Marquis & Vurpillot, 2008;Oberdorfer & Schmitz, 2011). For example, the modified 3D reconstruction algorithm is applied to an AlZnMg alloy containing Zn-and Mg-rich particles (Geuser et al, 2007).…”

Influence of experimental parameters on the composition of precipitates in metallic alloys

“…5, the shape of the precipitates near the top of the analysis appears flattened, whereas relatively spherical precipitates can be observed near the bottom of the tip. This might be caused by the progressive change in the reconstruction parameters [46] that is not taken into account in the reconstruction protocol implemented in the commercial software package used to build these reconstructions. This will affect the values of the average aspect ratio of precipitates listed in Tables 1 and 2 maybe more than other experimental conditions.…”

Topological Data Analysis for the Characterization of Atomic Scale Morphology from Atom Probe Tomography Images

“…The modern development of Atom Probe Tomography (APT) has opened new exciting opportunities for material design due to its ability to experimentally map atoms with chemistry in a 3D space [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. However, the challenges exist to accurately reconstruct the 3D atomic structure and to more precisely identify features (for example, precipitates and interfaces) from the 3D data.…”