Unified APT and TEM Data for Atomic-Scale Imaging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current atom probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques face challenges in achieving atomic-scale resolution due to detector efficiency, trajectory aberrations, non-uniform magnification, and limited compositional information, leading to incomplete and inaccurate data reconstruction, while TEM/STEM methods struggle with the 'inverse problem' and 'projection criterion', resulting in limited 3D imaging capabilities.
Innovation Solution
Combining APT and TEM data into a unified dataset, using APT data to improve TEM image simulations by providing compositional and crystallographic information, and vice versa, to enhance data accuracy and reduce reconstruction artifacts, and employing the Spatial Distribution Map (SDM) to quantify and correct aberrations in APT images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If atom probe tomography is used to achieve atomic-level analysis, then compositional information and 3D mapping capability are improved, but detector efficiency and trajectory aberrations degrade measurement precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines atom probe tomography data with transmission electron microscopy data into a unified dataset, merging the compositional information strength of APT with the spatial resolution strength of TEM to overcome the limitations of each individual technique
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an iterative refinement process where TEM images serve as an intermediary to guide APT data reconstruction, and APT compositional data serves as an intermediary to improve TEM image simulation, allowing each technique to compensate for the other's deficiencies
2Measurement precision
If transmission electron microscopy is used to achieve atomic resolution imaging, then spatial resolution is improved, but 3D imaging capability and compositional information are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges TEM spatial resolution data with APT compositional data to create a unified dataset that contains both high spatial resolution and complete compositional information that neither technique can provide alone
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the compositional dimension to TEM imaging by integrating APT data, transforming 2D spatial information into 3D compositional mapping capability while maintaining atomic-scale resolution
3Productivity
If atom probe data reconstruction is performed without corrections, then processing speed is improved, but reconstruction accuracy is degraded due to aberrations and magnification errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary corrections for trajectory aberrations and non-uniform magnification during the data reconstruction process, establishing accurate reference frameworks before final image generation to enable both speed and accuracy
4Quantity of substance
If multiple layers of different atomic species are analyzed by atom probe, then compositional diversity is improved, but preferential evaporation and specimen fracture increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses TEM imaging as an intermediary to characterize the specimen structure before APT analysis, allowing optimization of analysis parameters to prevent preferential evaporation and specimen fracture when analyzing multiple atomic species
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach increases the accuracy and speed of TEM structural model generation, improves spatial resolution, and allows for more precise visualization and classification of materials at the atomic level by integrating complementary data sets and correcting for reconstruction errors.
Implementation Method 1
a positive electrical pulse (above the baseline voltage) and/or a laser pulse (e.g., photonic energy) are intermittently applied to the specimen. Occasionally (e.g., one time in 10 to 100 pulses) a single atom is ionized near the tip of the specimen. The ionized atom(s) separate or 'evaporate' from the surface
Implementation Method 2
The elemental identity of an ionized atom can be determined by measuring its time of flight (TOF) from the surface of the specimen to the detector, which varies based on the mass-to-charge-state ratio (m/z) of the ionized atom
Implementation Method 3
The location of the ionized atom on the surface of the specimen can be determined by measuring the location of the atom's impact on the detector
Implementation Method 4
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a technique wherein electrons are transmitted through a very thin specimen and the interactions between the electrons and the specimen are detected by various means
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed generally toward atom probe and TEM data and associated systems and methods. Other aspects of the invention are directed toward combining APT data and TEM data into a unified data set. Other aspects of the invention are directed toward using the data from one instrument to improve the quality of data obtained from another instrument.