On the current role of atom probe tomography in materials characterization and materials science

•Review of the current state of atom probe tomography in materials science.•Imaging of biomaterials.•Chemical mapping in semiconductor devices to link processing to performance.•Systematic atomic scale analyses of the evolution of microstructures.

Atom probe tomography has without any doubt become a routine technique to analyze the detailed three-dimensional chemistry of materials at the nanoscale. This article provides a general overview of what APT can reliably do today and what it might do tomorrow in terms of material characterization. The recent achievements in the analysis of new materials and new materials structures are first presented allowing some speculation on future possible developments. The ability to provide unique quantitative chemical information to link processing to device performance is then reviewed in the context of the recent nanowire and gate structures analyses. Finally examples of the systematic use of atom probe tomography to explore material behaviors and kinetic processes controlling microstructure evolution are presented.