Atom probe tomography analysis of WC powder

A tantalum doped tungsten carbide powder, (W,Ta)C, was prepared with the purpose to maximise the amount of Ta in the hexagonal mixed crystal carbide. Atom probe tomography (APT) was considered to be the best technique to quantitatively measure the amount of Ta within this carbide. As the carbide powder consisted in the form of very small particles (<1 μm), a method to produce APT specimens of such a powder was developed. The powder was at first embedded in copper and a FIB-SEM workstation was used to make an in-situ lift-out from a selected powder particle. The powder particle was then deposited on a post made from a WC-Co based cemented carbide specimen. With the use of a laser assisted atom probe, it was shown that the method is working and the Ta content of the (W,Ta)C could be measured quantitatively.