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Optimizing Atom Probe Analysis with Synchronous Laser Pulsing and Voltage Pulsing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2017

Lu Zhao ,
Antoine Normand ,
Jonathan Houard ,
Ivan Blum ,
Fabien Delaroche ,
Olivier Latry ,
Blaise Ravelo  and
Francois Vurpillot
Lu Zhao*
Affiliation:
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, CNRS, GPM, Normandie Université, 76000 Rouen, France
Antoine Normand
Affiliation:
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, CNRS, GPM, Normandie Université, 76000 Rouen, France
Jonathan Houard
Affiliation:
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, CNRS, GPM, Normandie Université, 76000 Rouen, France
Ivan Blum
Affiliation:
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, CNRS, GPM, Normandie Université, 76000 Rouen, France
Fabien Delaroche
Affiliation:
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, CNRS, GPM, Normandie Université, 76000 Rouen, France
Olivier Latry
Affiliation:
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, CNRS, GPM, Normandie Université, 76000 Rouen, France
Blaise Ravelo
Affiliation:
IRSEEM EA 4353, at the Graduate School of Engineering, ESIGELEC, 76800 Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, France
Francois Vurpillot
Affiliation:
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, CNRS, GPM, Normandie Université, 76000 Rouen, France
*
*Corresponding author.lu.zhao1@etu.univ-rouen.fr
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Abstract

Atom probe has been developed for investigating materials at the atomic scale and in three dimensions by using either high-voltage (HV) pulses or laser pulses to trigger the field evaporation of surface atoms. In this paper, we propose an atom probe setup with pulsed evaporation achieved by simultaneous application of both methods. This provides a simple way to improve mass resolution without degrading the intrinsic spatial resolution of the instrument. The basic principle of this setup is the combination of both modes, but with a precise control of the delay (at a femtosecond timescale) between voltage and laser pulses. A home-made voltage pulse generator and an air-to-vacuum transmission system are discussed. The shape of the HV pulse presented at the sample apex is experimentally measured. Optimizing the delay between the voltage and the laser pulse improves the mass spectrum quality.

Keywords

pump-probefield evaporationshort HV pulseatom probemass resolution
Type
Hardware
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 23 , Special Issue 2: Atom Probe Tomography & Microscopy 2016 , April 2017 , pp. 221 - 226
Copyright
© Microscopy Society of America 2017 

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