My Life With Erwin: The Beginning of an Atom-Probe Legacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-279
Author(s):  
John A. Panitz
Keyword(s):  
Field Emission ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
National Bureau ◽  
State University ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
National Science ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

AbstractThe atom-probe field ion microscope was introduced in 1967 at the 14th Field Emission Symposium held at the National Bureau of Standards (now, NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The atom-probe field ion microscope was, and remains, the only instrument capable of determining “the nature of one single atom seen on a metal surface and selected from neighboring atoms at the discretion of the observer”. The development of the atom-probe is a story of an instrument that one National Science Foundation (NSF) reviewer called “impossible because single atoms could not be detected”. It is also a story of my life with Erwin Wilhelm Müller as his graduate student in the Field Emission Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University in the late 1960s and his strong and volatile personality, perhaps fostered by his pedigree as Gustav Hertz’s student in the Berlin of the 1930s. It is the story that has defined by scientific career.

Microscopy Milestones: Field Ion Microscopy, Atom Probe Field Ion Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1190-1191
Author(s):  
M. K. Miller ◽  
J. A. Panitz
Keyword(s):  
Atom Probe ◽  
State University ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Field Ion Microscopy ◽  
Fluorescent Screen ◽  
Positive Voltage ◽  
New Type ◽  
Ion Microscopy ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

Two of the most significant microscopy milestones that were achieved in the last century were the imaging of individual atoms and the identification of individual atoms. Both these remarkable achievements were due to Prof. E. W. Miiller and members of his group at Pennsylvania State University. Almost fifty years ago, Miiller introduced a new type of microscope in which a sharp needle-shaped specimen was pointed at a fluorescent screen, Fig. 1. By applying an appropriately high positive voltage to the specimen, image gas atoms near the apex of the specimen could be ionized and radially projected towards the screen where they produced highly magnified images of the specimen surface, Fig. 2. By cryogenically cooling the specimen and using helium as the image gas, the first images of individual atoms were obtained in a field ion microscope by Bahadur and Müller on October 11th, 1955.

Anecdotes from an Atom-Probe Original

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 74-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Panitz
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Field Emission ◽  
Metal Surface ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Single Atoms ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

The Atom-Probe Field Ion Microscope was introduced in 1967 at the 14th Field Emission Symposium in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Atom-Probe was, and remains, the only instrument capable of determining “the nature of one single atom seen on a metal surface and selected from neighboring atoms at the discretion of the observer”. The development of the Atom-Probe is a story that highlights Erwin Muller's strong and sometimes volatile personality. It is a story of an instrument that one NSF proposal reviewer called “impossible” because “single atoms could not be detected”. It is also the story of the Field Emission Laboratory at Penn State in the late 1960s and the contributions of two superb technicians, Gerald Fowler and Brooks McLane, and two graduate students, Douglas Barofsky and John Panitz. The anecdotes from this time are colorful and reflect Erwin's pedigree as Gustav Hertz's student in the Berlin of the 1930s.

scholarly journals Spatial Resolution in the Atom Probe Field Ion Microscope

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1189-1190
Author(s):  
M. K. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
Field Evaporation ◽  
Sensitive Detector ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
3 Dimensional ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

The atom probe field ion microscope can resolve and identify individual atoms. This ability is demonstrated in a pair of field ion micrographs of an Ni3Al specimen, Fig. 1, in which the individual atoms on the close packed (111) plane are clearly resolved. Comparison of these two micrographs reveals that an individual atom was field evaporated between the micrographs. Due to the hemispherical nature of the specimen, the ability to resolve this two dimensional atomic arrangement is only possible on low index plane facets. The spatial resolution in field ion images is determined by a number of factors including specimen temperature, material, microstructural features, specimen geometry, and crystallographic location.The spatial resolution of the data obtained in atom probe and 3 dimensional atom probe compositional analyses can be evaluated with the use of field evaporation or field desorption images. The field evaporation images are formed from the surface atoms with the use of a single atom sensitive detector whereas the field ion image is formed from the projection of a continuous supply of ionized image gas atoms.

Applications of Atom Probe Microanalysis in Materials Science

MRS Bulletin ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 27-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.K. Miller ◽  
G.D.W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Light Element ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Probe Technique ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

The atom probe field ion microscope is the most powerful and direct method for the analysis of materials at the atomic level. Since analyses are performed by collecting atoms one at a time from a small volume, it is possible to conduct fundamental characterization of materials at this level. The atom probe technique is applicable to a wide range of materials since its only restriction is that the material under analysis must possess at least some limited electrical conductance. Therefore, since its introduction in 1968, the atom probe field ion microscope has been used in many diverse applications in most branches of materials science. Many of the applications have exploited its high spatial resolution capabilities to perform microstructural characterizations of features such as grain boundaries and other interfaces and ultrafine scale precipitation that are not possible with other microanaly tical techniques. This article briefly outlines some of the capabilities and applications of the atom probe. The details of the atom probe technique are described elsewhere.The power of the atom probe may be demonstrated by its ability to see and identify a single atom, which is particularly useful in characterizing solute segregation to grain boundaries or other interfaces. An example of a brightly-imaging solute atom at a grain boundary in a nickel aluminide is shown in Figure 1. In order to conclusively determine its identity, its image is aligned with the probe aperture in the center of the imaging screen and then the selected atom is carefully removed by field evaporation and analyzed in the time-of-flight mass spectrometer. This and many other bright spots in this material were shown to be boron atoms. This example also illustrates the light element analytical capability of the atom probe. In fact, the atom probe may to used to analyze all elements in the periodic table and has had applications ranging from characterizing the distribution of implanted hydrogen to phase transformations in uranium alloys.

THE FRONTIERS OF MINING GEOPHYSICS

Geophysics ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 878-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. H. Ward ◽  
R. E. Campbell ◽  
J. D. Corbett ◽  
G. W. Hohmann ◽  
C. K. Moss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Salt Lake City ◽  
State University ◽  
Nonrenewable Resources ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
National Science ◽  
Critical Problems ◽  
Lake City ◽  
Research Frontiers

The RANN Division (Research Applied to National Needs) of the National Science Foundation has embarked upon a program of encouragement and sponsorship of research on exploration for and exploitation of nonenergy nonrenewable resources. To define critical problems requiring research, RANN is sponsoring a series of workshops wherein prominent members of industry, academia, and government assemble to debate the issues and produce lists of subjects requiring research. The first workshop in this series, entitled “Workshop on Research Frontiers in Exploration for Nonrenewable Resources”, was held at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, October 11 to 13, 1976. The second workshop, “Geophysics Applied to Detection and Delineation of Nonenergy Nonrenewable Resources”, reported here, was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, December 6 to 8, 1976.

Projects

1988 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 695-700
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
State University ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
Teacher Nominations ◽  
National Science ◽  
Outstanding Teacher

During the summer of 1987, the first part of a National Science Foundation honors workshop for secondary school mathematics teachers was conducted at the Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg. The objective of the workshop was to introduce select· ed teachers to the concepts and techniques of mathematical modeling and to encourage and aid them in actually preparing modeling exercises for incorporation into their classroom teaching. Through a system of planned networking, their experiences are shared with colleagues in the region. The thirty-five participants from the southcentral Pennsylvania region were selected on the basis of outstanding teacher nominations by their school districts.

The Atom-Probe Field Ion Microscope: Applications in Surface M Science

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 110-111
Author(s):  
G. L. Kellogg
Keyword(s):  
Surface Science ◽  
Surface Segregation ◽  
Surface Region ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
Solid Solution Alloy ◽  
Probe Field ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

The ability to locate an individual atom on a surface, remove it in a controlled fashion, and determine its chemical identity makes the atom-probe field-ion microscope an extremely powerful tool for the analysis of solid surfaces. By itself, the field ion microscope has contributed significantly to our understanding of surface atomic structure, single-atom surface diffusion, and the detailed interactions that occur between atoms and defects on surfaces.1 When used in combination with the atom-probe mass spectrometer there have been several additional areas within the traditional definition of "surface science" where the chemical identification capability of the atom probe has led to new insights. In this paper these applications are reviewed focusing on two specific areas: surface segregation in intermetallic alloys and chemical reactions on metal surfaces.The equilibrium distribution of component species in the near surface region of solid solution alloy may be different from the distribution in the bulk.

Atomic Spectroscopy in the FIM

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 758-761
Author(s):  
J. J. Hren ◽  
S. D. Walck
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Atomic Spectroscopy ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
Statistical Sampling ◽  
Commercial Instrument ◽  
Available Technology ◽  
High Electric Fields ◽  
Field Ion Microscope

The field ion microscope (FIM) has had the ability to routinely image the surface atoms of metals since Mueller perfected it in 1956. Since 1967, the TOF Atom Probe has had single atom sensitivity in conjunction with the FIM. “Why then hasn't the FIM enjoyed the success of the electron microscope?” The answer is closely related to the evolution of FIM/Atom Probe techniques and the available technology. This paper will review this evolution from Mueller's early discoveries, to the development of a viable commercial instrument. It will touch upon some important contributions of individuals and groups, but will not attempt to be all inclusive. Variations in instrumentation that define the class of problems for which the FIM/AP is uniquely suited and those for which it is not will be described. The influence of high electric fields inherent to the technique on the specimens studied will also be discussed. The specimen geometry as it relates to preparation, statistical sampling and compatibility with the TEM will be examined.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document