Fabrication of Specimens for Atom Probe Tomography using a Combined Gallium and Neon Focused Ion Beam Milling Approach

Published

August 16, 2023

Author(s)

Frances Allen, Paul Blanchard, David Pappas, Russell Lake, Deying Xia, John Notte, Ruopeng Zhang, Andrew Minor, Norman A. Sanford

Abstract

We demonstrate a new focused ion beam sample preparation method for atom probe tomography. The key aspect of the new method is that we use a neon ion beam for the final tip shaping after conventional annulus milling using gallium ions. This dual-ion approach combines the benefits of the faster milling capability of the higher current gallium ion beam with the chemically inert and higher precision milling capability of the noble gas neon ion beam. Using a titanium-aluminum alloy and a layered aluminum/aluminum oxide material as test cases, we show that atom probe tips prepared using the combined gallium and neon ion approach are free from the gallium contamination that typically frustrates composition analysis of these materials due to implantation, diffusion, and embrittlement effects. We propose that by using a focused ion beam from a noble gas species, such as the neon ions demonstrated here, atom probe tomography can be more reliably performed on a larger range of materials than is currently possible using conventional techniques.

Citation

Microscopy and Microanalysis

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1093/micmic/ozad078

Local Download

Keywords

atom probe tomography, focused ion beam, gas field ionization source, neon ions

Citation

Allen, F. , Blanchard, P. , Pappas, D. , Lake, R. , Xia, D. , Notte, J. , Zhang, R. , Minor, A. and Sanford, N. (2023), Fabrication of Specimens for Atom Probe Tomography using a Combined Gallium and Neon Focused Ion Beam Milling Approach, Microscopy and Microanalysis, [online], https://doi.org/10.1093/micmic/ozad078, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=936205 (Accessed April 27, 2024)