Specimen preparation for correlating transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography of mesoscale features

Matthew I Hartshorne; Dieter Isheim; David N Seidman; Mitra L Taheri

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2014.05.005

Specimen preparation for correlating transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography of mesoscale features

Ultramicroscopy. 2014 Dec:147:25-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2014.05.005. Epub 2014 Jun 12.

Authors

Matthew I Hartshorne¹, Dieter Isheim², David N Seidman³, Mitra L Taheri⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208-3108, USA; Northwestern University Center for Atom-Probe Tomography, 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208-3108, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208-3108, USA; Northwestern University Center for Atom-Probe Tomography, 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208-3108, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 24976357
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2014.05.005

Abstract

Atom-probe tomography (APT) provides atomic-scale spatial and compositional resolution that is ideally suited for the analysis of grain boundaries. The small sample volume analyzed in APT presents, however, a challenge for capturing mesoscale features, such as grain boundaries. A new site-specific method utilizing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the precise selection and isolation of mesoscale microstructural features in a focused-ion-beam (FIB) microscope lift-out sample, from below the original surface of the bulk sample, for targeted preparation of an APT microtip by FIB-SEM microscopy is presented. This methodology is demonstrated for the targeted extraction of a prior austenite grain boundary in a martensitic steel alloy; it can, however, be easily applied to other mesoscale features, such as heterophase interfaces, precipitates, and the tips of cracks.

Keywords: Atom probe tomography; Focused ion beam; Transmission electron microscopy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.