Introducing a Dynamic Reconstruction Methodology for Multilayered Structures in Atom Probe Tomography

Atom probe tomography (APT) is a powerful three-dimensional nanoanalyzing microscopy technique considered key in modern materials science. However, progress in the spatial reconstruction of APT data has been rather limited since the first implementation of the protocol proposed by Bas et al. in 1995. This paper proposes a simple semianalytical approach to reconstruct multilayered structures, i.e., two or more different compounds stacked perpendicular to the analysis direction. Using a field evaporation model, the general dynamic evolution of parameters involved in the reconstruction of this type of structure is estimated. Some experimental reconstructions of different structures through the implementation of this method that dynamically accommodates variations in the tomographic reconstruction parameters are presented. It is shown both experimentally and theoretically that the depth accuracy of reconstructed APT images is improved using this method. The method requires few parameters in order to be easily usable and substantially improves atom probe tomographic reconstructions of multilayered structures.