Effect of Specimen Aspect Ratio on the Reconstruction of Atom Probe Tomography Data

The field ion microscope is a point projection microscope, with the magnification inversely proportional to the radius of curvature (R) of the needle-shaped tip which comprises the specimen. The electric field at the specimen apex, which determines the trajectories of field evaporated ions, is given by F=V/(kR), where V is the specimen voltage and k is a geometric field reduction factor which increases with the specimen taper angle, θ. In the reconstruction of atom probe tomography (APT) data, the magnification, and thus the lateral extent of the analyzed region, is determined primarily by the specimen radius and taper angle. Asymmetric specimens may often be fabricated, even from materials which lend themselves to straightforward preparation. In addition, in certain materials, specimens with high aspect ratios may result from crystallographic preferential electropolishing. For accurate data reconstruction, it is important to know not only the specimen radius, but also, ideally, the degree of anisotropy (aspect ratio taper angle in orthogonal directions) of the specimen.