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Updated: May 17, 2026
Atom Probe Tomography Studies on the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Grain Boundaries
Published on: April 22, 2013
Atom probe tomography simulations and density functional theory calculations of bonding energies in Cu3Au
Torben Boll1, Zhi-Yong Zhu, Talaat Al-Kassab
1Institut für Materialphysik, Universität Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. Torben.Boll@kaust.edu.sa
Abstract:
In this article the Cu-Au binding energy in Cu3Au is determined by comparing experimental atom probe tomography (APT) results to simulations. The resulting bonding energy is supported by density functional theory calculations. The APT simulations are based on the Müller-Schottky equation, which is modified to include different atomic neighborhoods and their characteristic bonds. The local environment is considered up to the fifth next nearest neighbors. To compare the experimental with simulated APT data, the AtomVicinity algorithm, which provides statistical information about the positions of the neighboring atoms, is applied. The quality of this information is influenced by the field evaporation behavior of the different species, which is connected to the bonding energies.
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