Atom probe tomography (APT) is a cutting-edge technology capable of imaging three-dimensional atom distribution and measuring chemical composition at the sub-nano scale. Since APT samples are tip-shaped and have specific size requirements, several manufacturing methods based on focused ion beam (FIB) have been developed. In order to precisely preserve the region of interests (ROI) into the tip and also satisfy the need of correlative characterization between crystallographic information and chemical information, we developed a new approach of directly fabricating APT tips from the twin-jet electropolished transmission electron microscopy (TEM) thin disc. This method has been successfully demonstrated on a Ni-B disc sample. After its nanocrystalline structure been observed by TEM, APT tips were prepared and analyzed from the selected region of the very-edge of the center hole. The distributions of major elements from the sample itself and induced by FIB processing were also discussed. This approach exhibits universal applications, which can not only feature in the correlation between TEM and APT analysis, but also benefit for the Ga-sensitive materials as only minimum FIB processing is required.
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Rong Hu*, Xiaoyan Chang, Meiqing Chen, Jing Xue*, Hui Yang*, Wanquan Zhu*, Tianlin Huang. A Novel Approach for Fabricating Atom Probe Tomography Samples from the Thin Region of Electropolished TEM Disc[J]. Atomic Spectroscopy,,45().