Reconstructing atom probe data: a review.

Atom probe tomography stands out from other materials characterisation techniques mostly due to its capacity to map individual atoms in three-dimensions with high spatial resolution. The methods used to transform raw detector data into a three-dimensional reconstruction have, comparatively to other aspects of the technique, evolved relatively little since their inception more than 15 years ago. However, due to the importance of the fidelity of the data, this topic is currently attracting a lot of interest within the atom probe community. In this review we cover: (1) the main aspects of the image projection, (2) the methods used to build tomographic reconstructions, (3) the intrinsic limitations of these methods, and (4) future potential directions to improve the integrity of atom probe tomograms.

[1]  David J. Larson,et al.  Atom Probe Tomography 2012 , 2012 .

[2]  G. D. Smith,et al.  Aspects of the performance of a femtosecond laser-pulsed 3-dimensional atom probe. , 2007, Ultramicroscopy.

[3]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Advances in the calibration of atom probe tomographic reconstruction , 2009 .

[4]  B. Gorman,et al.  Hardware and Techniques for Cross- Correlative TEM and Atom Probe Analysis , 2008, Microscopy Today.

[5]  Guido Schmitz,et al.  On the Field Evaporation Behavior of Dielectric Materials in Three-Dimensional Atom Probe: A Numeric Simulation , 2010, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[6]  T. J. Wilkes,et al.  On the quantitative analysis of field-ion micrographs , 1974 .

[7]  G. Smith,et al.  Three-dimensional atom probe studies of metallic multilayers , 1999 .

[8]  J. Walls,et al.  The shape of field-ion emitters , 1979 .

[9]  D Lawrence,et al.  In situ site-specific specimen preparation for atom probe tomography. , 2007, Ultramicroscopy.

[10]  R. Bayuzick,et al.  Determination of field ion tip shapes , 1976 .

[11]  R. Newman,et al.  A method for indexing field ion micrographs , 1967 .

[12]  G. Smith,et al.  Field evaporation behavior during irradiation with picosecond laser pulses , 2008 .

[13]  Alfred Cerezo,et al.  Visualisation of three-dimensional microstructures , 1992 .

[14]  G. Smith,et al.  Lateral and depth scale calibration of the position sensitive atom probe , 1994 .

[15]  G. Smith,et al.  Analogue investigations of electric field distribution and ion trajectories in the field ion microscope , 1974 .

[16]  M. Fortes.  General properties of the field-ion image projection , 1971 .

[17]  D. Blavette,et al.  A new approach to the interpretation of atom probe field-ion microscopy images. , 2001, Ultramicroscopy.

[18]  G. Schmitz,et al.  A quantitative assessment of microelectrodes. , 2009, Ultramicroscopy.

[19]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Origin of the spatial resolution in atom probe microscopy , 2009 .

[20]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Impact of laser pulsing on the reconstruction in an atom probe tomography. , 2010, Ultramicroscopy.

[21]  F. Rademakers,et al.  ROOT — An object oriented data analysis framework , 1997 .

[22]  J. D. Olson,et al.  Advances in Pulsed-Laser Atom Probe: Instrument and Specimen Design for Optimum Performance , 2007, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[23]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Estimation of the Reconstruction Parameters for Atom Probe Tomography , 2008, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[24]  David N. Seidman,et al.  The field ionization characteristics of individual atomic planes , 1971 .

[25]  G. Gipson.  An improved empirical formula for the electric field near the surface of field emitters , 1980 .

[26]  B. P. Geiser,et al.  ATOM PROBE TOMOGRAPHY FOR MICROELECTRONICS , 2011 .

[27]  Timothy C. Petersen,et al.  An electron tomography algorithm for reconstructing 3D morphology using surface tangents of projected scattering interfaces , 2010, Comput. Phys. Commun..

[28]  B Gault,et al.  Advances in the reconstruction of atom probe tomography data. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[29]  A. Moore,et al.  Field evaporation from tungsten and the bonding of surface atoms , 1968 .

[30]  J. Walls,et al.  Ring counting in field‐ion micrographs , 1978 .

[31]  S. L. Shrestha,et al.  Dynamic reconstruction for atom probe tomography. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[32]  Vurpillot,et al.  The spatial resolution of 3D atom probe in the investigation of single-phase materials , 2000, Ultramicroscopy.

[33]  Talukder Alam,et al.  A reproducible method for damage‐free site‐specific preparation of atom probe tips from interfaces , 2012, Microscopy research and technique.

[34]  H. Eaton,et al.  The electric field distribution in the field ion microscope as a function of specimen shank , 1980 .

[35]  M Gruber,et al.  Pragmatic reconstruction methods in atom probe tomography. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[36]  D. Larson,et al.  Effect of analysis direction on the measurement of interfacial mixing in thin metal layers with atom probe tomography. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[37]  M. K. Miller,et al.  The effects of local magnification and trajectory aberrations on atom probe analysis , 1987 .

[38]  E. Müller,et al.  Aiming performance of the atom probe , 1975 .

[39]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Atom probe crystallography , 2012 .

[40]  B. P. Geiser,et al.  Definition of Spatial Resolution in Atom Probe Tomography , 2007, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[41]  M. Fortes.  The shape of field-evaporated metal tips , 1971 .

[42]  W. Vandervorst,et al.  In-situ observation of non-hemispherical tip shape formation during laser-assisted atom probe tomography , 2011 .

[43]  F Vurpillot,et al.  Modeling Image Distortions in 3DAP , 2004, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[44]  E. Müller,et al.  Multilayer field evaporation patterns , 1977 .

[45]  François Vurpillot,et al.  Depth resolution function of the laser assisted tomographic atom probe in the investigation of semiconductors , 2009 .

[46]  T. Buyuklimanli,et al.  EXTENDED DEPTH PROFILING WITH THE IAP , 1986 .

[47]  S. Nishigaki,et al.  Temperature and Field Effects on Atomic Arrangements of Clean Tungsten Tip Surfaces Observed by FIM , 1976 .

[48]  H. Kreuzer,et al.  Comparative studies on field ionization at surface sites of Rh, Ag and Au—differences in local electric field enhancement , 1994 .

[49]  M. Scheffler,et al.  Theory of adsorption and desorption in high electric fields , 1993 .

[50]  D. Blavette,et al.  TOWARD A TOMOGRAPHIC ATOM-PROBE , 1989 .

[51]  R. Forbes.  Field evaporation theory: a review of basic ideas , 1995 .

[52]  J. Walls,et al.  The projection geometry of the field-ion image , 1978 .

[53]  Ilke Arslan,et al.  Towards better 3-D reconstructions by combining electron tomography and atom-probe tomography. , 2008, Ultramicroscopy.

[54]  Michael P Moody,et al.  New Techniques for the Analysis of Fine-Scaled Clustering Phenomena within Atom Probe Tomography (APT) Data , 2007, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[55]  T. Ohkubo,et al.  Broadening the applications of the atom probe technique by ultraviolet femtosecond laser. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[56]  A. Bostel,et al.  A general protocol for the reconstruction of 3D atom probe data , 1995 .

[57]  C. D. Castilho.  Ion trajectories in atom probe field ion microscopy and gas field ion sources , 1999 .

[58]  D. Brandon.  On field evaporation , 1966 .

[59]  K. F. Russell,et al.  Atom probe specimen preparation with a dual beam SEM/FIB miller. , 2007, Ultramicroscopy.

[60]  T. Tsong.  On the mechanism of field evaporation , 1968 .

[61]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Electrostatic simulations of a local electrode atom probe: the dependence of tomographic reconstruction parameters on specimen and microscope geometry. , 2013, Ultramicroscopy.

[62]  D. Larson,et al.  Improvement of multilayer analyses with a three‐dimensional atom probe , 2004 .

[63]  J. Walls,et al.  Magnification in the field-ion microscope , 1979 .

[64]  D. Larson,et al.  A System for Simulation of Tip Evolution Under Field Evaporation , 2009, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[65]  G. Ranzi,et al.  Macroscopic electrical field distribution and field-induced surface stresses of needle-shaped field emitters. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[66]  H. Nordén,et al.  OBSERVATIONS OF THE FIELD-EVAPORATION END FORM OF TUNGSTEN. , 1969 .

[67]  Tien T. Tsong,et al.  Field ion image formation , 1978 .

[68]  D. Blavette,et al.  The tomographic atom probe: A quantitative three‐dimensional nanoanalytical instrument on an atomic scale , 1993 .

[69]  B. Deconihout,et al.  Field evaporation: A kinetic Monte Carlo approach on the influence of temperature , 2011 .

[70]  T. Prosa,et al.  Improvements in planar feature reconstructions in atom probe tomography , 2011, Journal of microscopy.

[71]  M. Blamire,et al.  Field-ion specimen preparation using focused ion-beam milling , 1999 .

[72]  D. Blavette,et al.  Direction et distance d'analyse à la sonde atomique , 1982 .

[73]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Influence of surface migration on the spatial resolution of pulsed laser atom probe tomography , 2010 .

[74]  B. P. Geiser,et al.  Wide-Field-of-View Atom Probe Reconstruction , 2009, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[75]  S. Ringer,et al.  Influence of the wavelength on the spatial resolution of pulsed-laser atom probe , 2011 .

[76]  A. Cerezo,et al.  Some aspects of image projection in the field-ion microscope , 1999 .

[77]  K. Yamanaka,et al.  Development of the Scanning Atom Probe and Atomic Level Analysis , 1998, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[78]  K. F. Russell,et al.  Effect of Specimen Aspect Ratio on the Reconstruction of Atom Probe Tomography Data , 1999, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[79]  F Vurpillot,et al.  Structural analyses in three‐dimensional atom probe: a Fourier transform approach , 2001, Journal of microscopy.

[80]  P. Kücher,et al.  Investigations of field-evaporated end forms in voltage- and laser-pulsed atom probe tomography. , 2009, Ultramicroscopy.

[81]  Emmanuelle A. Marquis,et al.  Applications of atom-probe tomography to the characterisation of solute behaviours , 2010 .

[82]  R. Würz,et al.  Design of a laser-assisted tomographic atom probe at Münster University. , 2010, The Review of scientific instruments.

[83]  Brian P. Gorman,et al.  Atom Probe Tomography of Electronic Materials , 2007 .

[84]  J. D. Olson,et al.  First Data from a Commercial Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP) , 2004, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[85]  S. Ringer,et al.  Atom probe trajectory mapping using experimental tip shape measurements , 2011, Journal of microscopy.

[86]  M. Brunel,et al.  Toward a laser assisted wide‐angle tomographic atom‐probe , 2007 .

[87]  A. Moore,et al.  Field evaporation end forms of tungsten , 1974 .

[88]  A. Bostel,et al.  Trajectory overlaps and local magnification in three-dimensional atom probe , 2000 .

[89]  E. Boyes,et al.  Investigations of field evaporation with a field-desorption microscope , 1976 .

[90]  Vurpillot,et al.  The shape of field emitters and the ion trajectories in three‐dimensional atom probes , 1999, Journal of microscopy.

[91]  David J. Larson,et al.  On the Use of Simulated Field-Evaporated Specimen Apex Shapes in Atom Probe Tomography Data Reconstruction , 2012, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[92]  D. Blavette,et al.  Trajectories of field emitted ions in 3D atom-probe , 1999 .

[93]  G. Schmitz,et al.  Influence of the microstructure on the interreaction of Al/Ni investigated by tomographic atom probe , 2002 .

[94]  Michael K Miller,et al.  Local magnification effects in the atom probe , 1990 .

[95]  T. Kuroda,et al.  On field-evaporation end forms of a bcc metal surface observed by a field ion microscope , 1969 .

[96]  S. Ringer,et al.  Shaping the lens of the atom probe: fabrication of site specific, oriented specimens and application to grain boundary analysis. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[97]  D. Blavette,et al.  An improved reconstruction procedure for the correction of local magnification effects in three‐dimensional atom‐probe , 2007, 0907.5067.

[98]  S. Ringer,et al.  Electron tomography using a geometric surface-tangent algorithm: Application to atom probe specimen morphology , 2009 .

[99]  Roger Smith,et al.  Ion trajectories in the field-ion microscope , 1978 .

[100]  Michael K Miller,et al.  Invited review article: Atom probe tomography. , 2007, The Review of scientific instruments.

[101]  E A Marquis,et al.  Evolution of tip shape during field evaporation of complex multilayer structures , 2011, Journal of microscopy.

[102]  M. Drechsler.  The thermal faceting of surfaces by low coverage adsorption. A model and analyses of field emission microscope experiments , 1992 .

[103]  A. Alavi,et al.  Field-evaporation from first-principles , 2004 .

[104]  Baptiste Gault,et al.  Spatial Resolution in Atom Probe Tomography , 2010, Microscopy and Microanalysis.

[105]  D. Larson,et al.  Non-Tangential Continuity Reconstruction in Atom Probe Tomography Data , 2011, Microscopy and Microanalysis.