Bringing atom probe tomography to transmission electron microscopes

Abstract

For the purpose of enhancing the structural insights within the three-dimensional composition fields revealed by atom probe tomography, correlative microscopy approaches, combining (scanning) transmission electron microscopy with atom probe tomography, have emerged and demonstrated their relevance. To push the boundaries further and facilitate a more comprehensive analysis of nanoscale matter by coupling numerous two- or three-dimensional datasets, there is an increasing interest in combining transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography into a unified instrument. This study presents the tangible outcome of an instrumental endeavour aimed at integrating atom probe tomography into a commercial transmission electron microscope. The resulting instrument demonstrates the feasibility of combining in situ 3D reconstructions of composition fields with the detailed structural analysis afforded by transmission electron microscopy. This study shows a promising approach for converging these two important nanoscale microscopy techniques.

The authors report the unification, in a single instrument, of two microscopy instruments: Atom Probe Tomography and Transmission Electron Microscopy. This instrumental outcome opens original perspectives for 3D atomic scale microscopy.