• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2012

The present paper gives an overview about the Atom Probe Tomography technique and its application to powder materials. The preparation of needle-shaped Atom Probe specimens from a single powder particle using focused-ion-beam milling is described. Selected experimental data on mechanically alloyed (and sintered) powder materials are presented, giving insight into the atomic-scale elemental redistribution occurring under powder metallurgical processing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.29-29
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• 2006

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.127-133
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• 2016

Atom probe tomography is a time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based microanalysis technique based on the field evaporation of surface atoms of a tip-shaped specimen under an extremely high surface electric field. It enables three-dimensional characterization for deeper understanding of chemical nature in conductive materials at nanometer/atomic level, because of its high depth and spatial resolutions and ppm-level sensitivity. Indeed, the technique has been widely used to investigate the elemental partitioning in the complex microstructures, the segregation of solute atoms to the boundaries, interfaces, and dislocations as well as following of the evolution of precipitation staring from the early stage of cluster formation to the final stage of the equilibrium precipitates. The current review article aims at giving a comment to first atom probe users regarding the limitation of the techniques, providing a brief perspective on how we correctly interprets atom probe data for targeted applications.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2011

Atom Probe Tomography (APT) can provide 3-dimensional information such as position and chemical composition with atomic resolution. Despite the ability of this technique, APT could not be applied for poor conductive materials such as semiconductor. Recently APT has dramatically developed by applying the laser pulsing and combining with Focused Ion Beam (FIB). The invention and combination of these techniques make possible site-specific sample preparation and permit the investigation of various materials including insulators. In this paper, we introduced the recently achieved state of the art applications of APT focusing on Si based FET devices, LED devices, low dimensional materials.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.81-88
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• 2011

Even though importance of nano-scale structure and compositional analysis have been getting increased, existing analysis tools have been reached to their limitations. Recent development of Atom Probe Tomography (APT), providing 3-dimensional elemental distribution and compositional information with sub-nm scale special resolution and tens of ppm detection limit, is one of key technique which can overcome these limitations. However, due to the fact that APT is not well known yet in the domestic research area, it has been rarely utilized so far. Therefore, in this article, the theoretical background of APT was briefly introduced with sample preparation to help understanding APT analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.476-485
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• 2024

Understanding the structure-property relationship in functional materials is crucial as microstructural features such as nano-precipitates, phase boundary, grain boundary segregation, and grain boundary phases play a key role in their functional properties. Atom probe tomography (APT) is an advanced analytical technique that allows for the three-dimensional (3D) mapping of atomic distributions and the precise determination of local chemical compositions in materials. Moreover, it offers sub-nanometer spatial resolution and chemical sensitivity at the tens of parts per million (ppm) level. Owing to its unique capabilities, this technique has been employed to uncover the 3D elemental distributions in a wide range of materials, including alloys, semiconductors, nanomaterials, and even biomaterials. In this paper, various kinds of examples are introduced for elucidating structure-property relationships on functional materials by utilizing the atom probe tomography.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.117-126
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• 2016

Atom probe tomography (APT) has been fast rising in prominence over the past decade as a key tool for nanoscale analytical characterization of a range of materials systems. APT provides three-dimensional mapping of the atom distribution in a small volume of solid material. The technique has evolved, with the incorporation of laser pulsing capabilities, and, combined with progress in specimen preparation, APT is now able to analyse a very range of materials, beyond metals and alloys that used to be its core applications. The present article aims to provide an overview of the technique, providing a brief historical perspective, discussing recent progress leading to the state-of-the-art, some perspectives on its evolution, with targeted examples of applications.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.122-126
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• 2013

The heterogeneous nucleation of the ${\Theta}^{\prime}$ phase on nanoscale precipitates has been investigated using a combination of three-dimensional atom probe tomography and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Two types of ${\Theta}^{\prime}$ phases were observed, namely small (~2 nm thick) cylindrical precipitates and larger (~100 nm) globular precipitates and both appear to be heterogeneously nucleated on the nanoscale precipitates. The composition and crystal structure of precipitates were directly analyzed by combination of two advanced characterization techniques.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2016

Currently, focused ion beams (FIB) are widely used for specimen preparation in atom probe tomography (APT), which is a three-dimensional and atomic-scale compositional analysis tool. Specimen preparation, in which a specific region of interest is identified and a sharp needle shape created, is the first step towards successful APT analysis. The FIB technique is a powerful tool for site-specific specimen preparation because it provides a lift-out technique and a controllable manipulation function. In this paper, we demonstrate a general procedure containing the crucial points of FIB-based specimen preparation. We introduce aluminum holders with moveable pin and an axial rotation manipulator for specimen handling, which are useful for flipping and rotating the specimen to present the backside and the perpendicular direction. We also describe specimen preparation methods for nanowires and nanopowders, using a pick-up method and an embedding method by epoxy resin, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1994.02a
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• pp.24-24
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• 1994