An Algorithm for Correcting Systematic Energy Deficits in the Atom Probe Mass Spectra of Insulating Samples

Published

April 15, 2020

Author(s)

Benjamin W. Caplins, Paul T. Blanchard, Ann C. Chiaramonti Debay, David R. Diercks, Luis Miaja Avila, Norman A. Sanford

Abstract

Improvements in the mass resolution of a mass spectrometer directly correlate to improvements in peak identification and quantification. Here we describe a post-processing technique developed to increase the quality of mass spectra of strongly insulating samples in laser- pulsed atom probe. The technique leverages the self-similarity of atom probe mass spectra collected at different times during an experimental run to correct for electrostatic artifacts that present as systematic energy deficits. We demonstrate the method on fused silica and neodymium-doped ceria samples which highlight the improvements that can be made to the mass spectrum of strongly insulating samples.

Citation

Ultramicroscopy

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2020.112995

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Keywords

atom probe microscopy, field ion microscopy, insulators, computational methods

Citation

Caplins, B. , Blanchard, P. , Chiaramonti, A. , Diercks, D. , Miaja, L. and Sanford, N. (2020), An Algorithm for Correcting Systematic Energy Deficits in the Atom Probe Mass Spectra of Insulating Samples, Ultramicroscopy, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2020.112995 (Accessed October 20, 2025)