Correlative microscopy and techniques with atom probe tomography: Opportunities in materials science

In the last decade, the applicability of atom probe tomography (APT) has been strongly extended from highly conductive materials such as metals and alloys to semiconductors and insulators as well as to more sophisticated systems. However, atom probe tomography can only provide information about composition for most of these complex materials, while the correlation between composition and other material properties such as structural, functional, and mechanical properties remains challenging to be analyzed by APT alone. Therefore, various groups worldwide have put notable efforts recently in combining APT with other microscopy methods and techniques ex situ and in situ with the goal to understand the composition-property interrelationships at the same position of the sample. Hence, the present work not only provides a short overview of such works, but also describes three short examples of possible opportunities in materials science when using correlative microscopy and techniques with atom probe tomography.

Automated summary

In the past decade, the applicability of atom probe tomography (APT) has been extended to a wide range of materials including semiconductors and insulators. However, APT can only provide information about composition, making it challenging to analyze the correlation between composition and other material properties. Therefore, researchers worldwide have been combining APT with other microscopy methods to understand the composition-property interrelationships at the same position of the sample. This article provides an overview of these efforts and presents three examples of opportunities in materials science when using correlative microscopy with APT.