Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1678884 | Ultramicroscopy | 2007 | 8 Pages |
Currently atom probe tomography provides the highest spatial resolution compared to all other volume analysis techniques. Owing to its single atom sensitivity, it is specially suited to study nano-structured materials. Therefore, a new atom probe was installed at the Institute for Material Physics at University of Muenster, Germany, to study thin film reactions. Since the available budget was rather limited, a cost-effective non-commercial atom probe was constructed.The instrument is based on a 2D delay line detector system of 120 mm diameter. To achieve a large collecting angle and thus large volumes of analysis, a straight flight tube without a reflectron is used. This way, the flight distance may be reduced down to 160 mm. However, the variable chamber layout allows using a reflectron as an alternative. Furthermore, a laser system is implemented that delivers pulses in the 500 ps range to make possible laser-assisted evaporation of atoms. The article describes instrumental details and presents first characteristic data.