Field-Ion Microscope Observation of Dislocations in Tungsten

Revealing atomic-scale vacancy-solute interaction in nickel

“…Through field ionization of an imaging gas near the sharp needle specimen's surface, FIM provides an atomically-resolved projection of the surface with near 100% imaging efficiency. FIM gives critical information regarding crystallographic defects such as vacancies [6,7,8,9], dislocations [10,11,12], or grain boundaries [12,13]. However, the nature of the contrast in FIM is still a matter of debate [14], making single atomic-scale studies of solute-defect interactions challenging.…”