Defining clusters in APT reconstructions of ODS steels

Oxide nanoclusters in a consolidated Fe–14Cr–2W–0.3Ti–0.3Y2O3 ODS steel and in the alloy powder after mechanical alloying (but before consolidation) are investigated by atom probe tomography (APT). The maximum separation method is a standard method to define and characterise clusters from within APT data, but this work shows that the extent of clustering between the two materials is sufficiently different that the nanoclusters in the mechanically alloyed powder and in the consolidated material cannot be compared directly using the same cluster selection parameters. As the cluster selection parameters influence the size and composition of the clusters significantly, a procedure to optimise the input parameters for the maximum separation method is proposed by sweeping the dmax and Nmin parameter space. By applying this method of cluster parameter selection combined with a ‘matrix correction’ to account for trajectory aberrations, differences in the oxide nanoclusters can then be reliably quantified.

► Oxide nanoclusters in an ODS steel are defined using the double maximum separation method.
► Clusters in ODS material at different stages during processing cannot be compared directly.
► Input parameters for the maximum separation method are optimised by an objective function.
► When combined with a ‘matrix correction’, variation in the nanoclusters can be quantified.