Compensating Local Magnifications in Atom Probe Tomography for Accurate Analysis of Nano-Sized Precipitates

Local magnification artifacts in atom probe tomography (APT) caused by multiphase materials with heterogeneous evaporation behavior are a well-known problem. In particular, the analysis of the exact size, shape, and composition of small precipitates is, therefore, not trivial. We performed numerical simulations of APT measurements to predict the reconstructed morphology of precipitates with contrasting evaporation thresholds. Based on a statistical approach that avoids coarse graining, the simulated data are evaluated to develop a model for the calculation of the original size of the precipitates. The model is tested on experimental APT data of precipitates with a higher and lower evaporation field in a ferritic alloy. Accurate sizes, proven by a complementary investigation by transmission electron microscopy, are obtained. We show further, how the size information can be used to obtain compositional information of the smallest precipitates and present a new methodology to determine a correct in-depth scaling of the APT reconstruction in case no complementary geometric information about the specimen exists or if no lattice planes are visible in the reconstruction.