Learn / Atom Probe
Atom Probe
Reconstruction,
chemistry, and
statistical confidence.
Learn how atom probe data is reconstructed, where artifacts come from, how spectra are interpreted, and how to judge whether a claimed segregation or composition trend is real.
1 · Start here
Build the foundation
2 · Learn the core
Master the key concepts
3 · Use a tool
Work with your data
ToolEDS QuantificationX-ray peak counts + k-factors → compositionThin-film EDS quantification in the browser: theoretical Cliff-Lorimer k-factors from ionisation cross-sections, fluorescence yields and detector efficiency, the absorption correction as the foil thickens, zeta-factor quantification with thickness, peak-overlap synthesis and least-squares fitting with variance inflation, and beam broadening versus foil thickness for map resolution.LabRegular Solution & Scheil-Gulliver Labinteraction energy → phase diagram, Scheil profileInteractive binary phase diagram and tie-line lab from a regular-solution model (click for the lever rule, no topology hard-coded), plus a Scheil-Gulliver microsegregation calculator for core-to-rim dendrite composition.LabBragg-Williams Order-Disorder Labtemperature → order parameter, superlattice spotsInteractive Bragg-Williams model of order-disorder transformations: the long-range order parameter S(T) from a self-consistent solve, the critical ordering temperature, a sublattice-occupancy visualization, and a schematic superlattice-reflection diffraction panel.LabKinetics for Real Alloys Labcooling path → TTT/CCT, case depthInteractive TTT and CCT diagrams built from a real nucleation-barrier times Arrhenius-mobility C-curve, plus case-depth diffusion for both fixed-surface carburizing and a self-consistently moving decarburizing phase boundary.
4 · Solve a problem
Troubleshoot real data
5 · Go deeper
Research-level topics
6 · All resources
Every APT page
- StoryThe Needle That RememberedA scrolling illustrated story about APT, and the finale of the case: a needle carved from bar B's grain boundary, evaporated one atom per pulse, named by time of flight, rebuilt in software, and made to confess a boron sheet one atom thick.
- GuideReconstruction & ResolutionHow an atom probe turns detector hits into a 3-D map of atoms: trajectory aberrations and local magnification near a precipitate, and why APT resolves atomic planes in depth but blurs laterally. Interactive explainers.
- GuideData & AnalysisUntangling an atom probe mass spectrum: peak overlaps and isotopic deconvolution, iso-concentration surfaces and proximity histograms, and counting statistics in a tip of a few million atoms. Interactive explainers.
- GuideInstrument, Prep & ApplicationsVoltage-pulsed versus laser-pulsed atom probe, FIB lift-out and annular milling of a site-specific needle, grain-boundary segregation, and correlative APT + TEM. Interactive explainers.
- FAQAPT Troubleshooting FAQTroubleshooting FAQ for atom probe tomography: trajectory aberrations and local magnification, mass-spectrum peak overlaps, counting statistics, proximity histograms, voltage vs laser pulsing, and site-specific lift-out, linked to the interactive guides.
Other fields: TEM & STEM · EBSD & TKD · Crystallography · Phase Transformations · Tribology · Nanoindentation · Scratch Testing · In-situ / FIB.