Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Complementary and correlative (S)TEM/APT analysis of functional and structural alloys

  • MRS Bulletin Review
  • Published:
MRS Bulletin Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Atom probe tomography (APT) can map out the three-dimensional element distribution of nanoscale microstructural features, which is difficult to analyze using (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM). Complementary or correlative (S)TEM/APT analysis can reveal both the structure and element distribution in more detail. This article showcases some examples of the structural and elemental distributions of alloys that were determined using correlative (S)TEM/APT analysis, including Cu nanoclusters in soft magnetic material, solute segregations to dislocations in magnesium alloys, Mg dopant distribution in GaN, and the intergranular phase in rare-earth permanent magnets. These analytical examples show the effectiveness of (S)TEM/APT complementary and correlative analyses to understand the underlying mechanism contributing to the development of excellent properties in these materials.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data sets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. A. Cerezo, T.J. Godfrey, G.D.W. Smith, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 59, 862 (1988)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. D. Blavette, B. Deconihout, A. Bostel, J.M. Sarrau, M. Bouet, A. Menand, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 64, 2911 (1993)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. D.J. Larson, D.T. Foord, A.K. Petford-Long, H. Liew, M.G. Blamire, A. Cerezo, G.D.W. Smith, Ultramicroscopy 79, 287 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. M.K. Miller, K.F. Russell, G.B. Thompson, Ultramicroscopy 102, 287 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. K. Thompson, D. Lawrence, D.J. Larson, J.D. Olson, T.F. Kelly, B. Gorman, Ultramicroscopy 107, 131 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. D.W. Saxey, J.M. Cairney, D. McGrouther, T. Honma, S.P. Ringer, Ultramicroscopy 107, 756 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. M.K. Miller, K.F. Russell, Ultramicroscopy 107, 761 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. A. Devaraj, D.E. Perea, J. Liu, L.M. Gordon, T.J. Prosa, P. Parikh, D.R. Diercks, S. Meher, R.P. Kolli, Y.S. Meng, S. Thevuthasan, Int. Mater. Rev. 63, 68 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. D.J. Larson, D. Lawrence, W. Lefebvre, D. Olson, T.J. Prosa, D.A. Reinhard, R.M. Ulfig, P.H. Clifton, J.H. Bunton, D. Lenz, J.D. Olson, L. Renaud, I. Martin, T.F. Kelly, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 326, 012030 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. A.K. Kambham, A. Kumar, A. Florakis, W. Vandervorst, Nanotechnology 24, 275705 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. A. Grenier, S. Duguay, J.P. Barnes, R. Serra, G. Haberfehlner, D. Cooper, F. Bertin, S. Barraud, G. Audoit, L. Arnoldi, E. Cadel, A. Chabli, F. Vurpillot, Ultramicroscopy 136, 185 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. D. Isheim, F.J. Stadermann, J.B. Lewis, C. Floss, T.L. Daulton, A.M. Davis, P.R. Heck, M.J. Pellin, M.R. Savina, D.N. Seidman, T. Stephan, Microsc. Microanal. 19, 974 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. P. Felfer, T. Li, K. Eder, H. Galinski, A.P. Magyar, D.C. Bell, G.D.W. Smith, N. Kruse, S.P. Ringer, J.M. Cairney, Ultramicroscopy 159, 413 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. N. Dawahre, G. Shen, S. Balci, W. Baughman, D.S. Wilbert, N. Harris, L. Butler, R. Martens, S.M. Kim, P. Kung, J. Electron. Mater. 41, 801 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. H. Blumtritt, D. Isheim, S. Senz, D.N. Seidman, O. Moutanabbir, Nanotechnology 25, 435704 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. B.P. Gorman, D. Diercks, N. Salmon, E. Stach, G. Amador, C. Hartfield, Micros. Today 16, 42 (2008)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. S.-I. Baik, X. Yin, D.N. Seidman, Scr. Mater. 68, 909 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. M. Herbig, D. Raabe, Y.J. Li, P. Choi, S. Zaefferer, S. Goto, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 126103 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. L. Rigutti, I. Blum, D. Shinde, D. Hernández-Maldonado, W. Lefebvre, J. Houard, F. Vurpillot, A. Vella, M. Tchernycheva, C. Durand, J. Eymery, B. Deconihout, Nano Lett. 14, 107 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Y. Yoshizawa, S. Oguma, K. Yamauchi, J. Appl. Phys. 64, 6044 (1988)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. K. Hono, K. Hiraga, Q. Wang, A. Inoue, T. Sakurai, Acta Metall. Mater. 40, 2137 (1992)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. K. Hono, D.-H. Ping, M. Ohnuma, H. Onodera, Acta Mater. 47, 997 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Y. Zhang, J.S. Blazquez, A. Conde, P.J. Warren, A. Cerezo, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 353, 158 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. W. Lefebvre, S. Morin-Grognet, F. Danoix, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 301, 343 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. P.R. Ohodnicki, Y.L. Qin, D.E. Laughlin, M.E. McHenry, M. Kodzuka, T. Ohkubo, K. Hono, M.A. Willard, Acta Mater. 57, 87 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. K.G. Pradeep, G. Herzer, P. Choi, D. Raabe, Acta Mater. 68, 295 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. A. Makino, IEEE Trans. Magn. 48, 1331 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Y. Nomura, J. Uzuhashi, T. Tomita, T. Takahashi, H. Kuwata, T. Abe, T. Ohkubo, K. Hono, J. Alloys Compd. 859, 157832 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. H.X. Li, J.E. Gao, Y. Wu, Z.B. Jiao, D. Ma, A.D. Stoica, X.L. Wang, Y. Ren, M.K. Miller, Z.P. Lu, Sci. Rep. 3, 1983 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. G. Herzer, Acta Mater. 61, 718 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. T.T. Sasaki, M.-Z. Bian, Z.H. Li, K. Hono, JOM 73, 1471 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. M. Cihova, R. Schäublin, L.B. Hauser, S.S.A. Gerstl, C. Simson, P.J. Uggowitzer, J.F. Löffler, Acta Mater. 158, 214 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. D.-H. Ping, K. Hono, J.F. Nie, Scr. Mater. 48, 1017 (2003)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. K. Oh-ishi, C.L. Mendis, T. Ohkubo, K. Hono, Ultramicroscopy 111, 715 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. J.F. Nie, K. Oh-ishi, X. Gao, K. Hono, Acta Mater. 56, 6061 (2008)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. E.L.S. Solomon, V. Araullo-Peters, J.E. Allison, E.A. Marquis, Scr. Mater. 128, 14 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. N. Stanford, G. Sha, J.H. Xia, S.P. Ringer, M.R. Barnett, Scr. Mater. 65, 919 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. I. Basu, K.G. Pradeep, C. Mießen, L.A. Barrales-Mora, T. Al-Samman, Acta Mater. 116, 77 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. T.T.T. Trang, J.H. Zhang, J.H. Kim, A. Zargaran, J.H. Hwang, B.-C. Suh, N.J. Kim, Nat. Commun. 9, 2522 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Z.H. Li, T.T. Sasaki, T. Shiroyama, A. Miura, K. Uchida, K. Hono, Mater. Res. Lett. 8, 335 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. K. Oh-ishi, R. Watanabe, C.L. Mendis, K. Hono, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 526, 177 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. M.Z. Bian, T.T. Sasaki, T. Nakata, Y. Yoshida, N. Kawabe, S. Kamado, K. Hono, Acta Mater. 158, 278 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. D. Blavette, Science 286, 2317 (1999)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. M. Kuzmina, M. Herbig, D. Ponge, S. Sandlöbes, D. Raabe, Science 349, 1080 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. T.F. Kelly, D.J. Larson, K. Thompson, R.L. Alvis, J.H. Bunton, J.D. Olson, B.P. Gorman, Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 37, 681 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. M.J. Galtrey, R.A. Oliver, M.J. Kappers, C.J. Humphreys, D.J. Stokes, P.H. Clifton, A. Cerezo, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 061903 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. T.J. Flack, B.N. Pushpakaran, S.B. Bayne, J. Electron. Mater. 45, 2673 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. K. Iwata, H. Sakurai, S. Arai, T. Nakashima, T. Narita, K. Kataoka, M. Bockowski, M. Nagao, J. Suda, T. Kachi, N. Ikarashi, J. Appl. Phys. 127, 105106 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. S. Usami, N. Mayama, K. Toda, A. Tanaka, M. Deki, S. Nitta, Y. Honda, H. Amano, Appl. Phys. Lett. 114, 232105 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. O.G. Licata, S. Broderick, E. Rocco, F. Shahedipour-Sandvik, B. Mazumder, Appl. Phys. Lett. 119, 032102 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. A. Kumar, J. Uzuhashi, T. Ohkubo, R. Tanaka, S. Takashima, M. Edo, K. Hono, J. Appl. Phys. 126, 235704 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. S.E. Bennett, R.M. Ulfig, P.H. Clifton, M.J. Kappers, J.S. Barnard, C.J. Humphreys, R.A. Oliver, Ultramicroscopy 111, 207 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. P.J. Phillips, M. De Graef, L. Kovarik, A. Agrawal, W. Windl, M.J. Mills, Ultramicroscopy 116, 47 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. M. Sagawa, S. Fujimura, H. Yamamoto, Y. Matsuura, K. Hiraga, IEEE Trans. Magn. 20, 1584 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. S. Hirosawa, Y. Matsuura, H. Yamamoto, S. Fujimura, M. Sagawa, H. Yamauchi, J. Appl. Phys. 59, 873 (1986)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. K. Hono, H. Sepehri-Amin, Scr. Mater. 67, 530 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. H. Sepehri-Amin, T. Ohkubo, T. Nishiuchi, S. Hirosawa, K. Hono, Scr. Mater. 63, 1124 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. H. Sepehri-Amin, T. Ohkubo, T. Shima, K. Hono, Acta Mater. 60, 819 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. H. Chen, F. Yun, J. Qu, Y. Li, Z. Cheng, R. Fang, Z. Ye, S.P. Ringer, R. Zheng, Phys. Rev. Mater. 2, 054404 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. K.T. Park, K. Hiraga, M. Sagawa, in Proceedings of the 16th International Workshop on Rare-Earth Magnets and Their Applications (Sendai, Japan, 2000), pp. 257–264

  61. H. Nakamura, K. Hirota, M. Shimao, T. Minowa, M. Honshima, IEEE Trans. Magn. 41, 3844 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. H. Sepehri-Amin, J. Liu, T. Ohkubo, K. Hioki, A. Hattori, K. Hono, Scr. Mater. 69, 647 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. M. Korent, X. Tang, H. Sepehri-Amin, K. Hioki, K.Ž Soderžnik, S. Kobe, T. Ohkubo, K. Hono, Scr. Mater. 205, 114207 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. J. Li, H. Sepehri-Amin, T. Sasaki, T. Ohkubo, K. Hono, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 22, 386 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. K. Ohashi, Y. Tawara, R. Osugi, M. Shimao, J. Appl. Phys. 64, 5714 (1988)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. H. Sepehri-Amin, Y. Tamazawa, M. Kambayashi, G. Saito, Y.K. Takahashi, D. Ogawa, T. Ohkubo, S. Hirosawa, M. Doi, T. Shima, K. Hono, Acta Mater. 194, 337 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. D. Palanisamy, S. Ener, F. Maccari, L. Schäfer, K.P. Skokov, O. Gutfleisch, D. Raabe, B. Gault, Phys. Rev. Mater. 4, 054404 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. S. Ener, K.P. Skokov, D. Palanisamy, T. Devillers, J. Fischbacher, G.G. Eslava, F. Maccari, L. Schäfer, L.V.B. Diop, I. Radulov, B. Gault, G. Hrkac, N.M. Dempsey, T. Schrefl, D. Raabe, O. Gutfleisch, Acta Mater. 214, 116968 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan

    T. T. Sasaki, H. Sepehri-Amin, J. Uzuhashi, T. Ohkubo & K. Hono

Authors
  1. T. T. Sasaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. Sepehri-Amin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. Uzuhashi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. T. Ohkubo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. K. Hono
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. T. Sasaki.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sasaki, T.T., Sepehri-Amin, H., Uzuhashi, J. et al. Complementary and correlative (S)TEM/APT analysis of functional and structural alloys. MRS Bulletin 47, 688–695 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-022-00374-7

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-022-00374-7

Search

Navigation