Atom Probe Tomography at Chalmers Materials Analysis Laboratory

Chalmers Materials Analysis Laboratory (CMAL) is an open infrastructure for advanced materials characterization, with a focus on electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and atom probe tomography (APT).

CMAL is hosted by the Department of Physics and has a lab manager and four full-time research engineers, responsible for service and upgrades of instruments and for training of the users and user support.

The scientific goal of CMAL is to facilitate world class materials research by providing access to state-of-the art equipment and support.APT is a unique method that provides 3D information of a material at the atomic level by determining the position and chemical identity of single atoms.

The high resolution together with the possibility to quantify all elements make APT instrumental for advancing materials science.

In the last decade it has become a wide-spread technique for advanced characterization of alloys, ceramics, semiconductors and minerals.

A new fascinating development concerns analysis of biological materials, including the studies of proteins, and even liquids.

Some areas of societal interest where APT will be of importance are materials for energy applications, additive manufacturing and the effect of hydrogen on materials. This proposal is asking for funding for purchasing a new instrument for APT.

The existing APT instrument at Chalmers is the only one in Sweden, but it is 13-years old and its continued operation cannot be guaranteed by the supplier.

Also, the development during the last few years in the APT technique makes data quality better and acquisition times shorter. On a national level the experience and competence in APT at Chalmers is unique and at the international research front. We provide access and user support to APT for researchers at Swedish universities, institutes and industry.

We also offer access to advanced equipment for APT specimen preparation, e.g. FIB and SEM instruments, which is essential for new user groups.