Correlating Atom Probe Crystallographic Measurements with Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction Data

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Crystallography

Background:

• Correlative microscopy combines techniques for enhanced analysis.
• Atom Probe Tomography (APT) and Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction (TKD) are powerful but rarely combined.
• Understanding alloy microstructures requires accurate crystallographic data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlative application of APT and TKD on the same specimen.
• To validate the accuracy of crystallographic measurements from APT using TKD.
• To assess the impact of APT instrument type and experimental conditions on measurement accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Correlative microscopy using APT and TKD on shared tip specimens.
• Analysis of nanocrystalline Al-0.5Ag alloy and high-purity Mo specimens.
• Comparison of crystallographic misorientation angles derived from APT reconstructions and TKD data.

Main Results:

• The study presents the first independent verification of APT crystallographic accuracy using TKD.
• Misorientation angle deviations between APT and TKD were found to be 0.7° and 1.4° for different specimens/configurations.
• The type of APT instrument and experimental parameters influence the accuracy of crystallographic measurements.

Conclusions:

• Combining APT and TKD provides a powerful approach for detailed microstructural analysis of engineering alloys.
• Reconstruction and measurement procedures in APT can affect angular resolution and accuracy.
• Further research is needed to optimize correlative workflows for improved crystallographic analysis.