Transmission Kikuchi diffraction mapping induces structural damage in atom probe specimens
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Gault, Baptiste
Khanchandani, Heena
Prithiv, TS
Antonov, Stoichko
Britton, T Ben
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Measuring local chemistry of specific crystallographic features by atom probe tomography (APT) is facilitated by using transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) to help position them sufficiently close to the apex of the needle-shaped specimen. However, possible structural damage associated to the energetic electrons used to perform TKD is rarely considered and is hence not well-understood. Here, in two case studies, we evidence damage in APT specimens from TKD mapping. First, we analyze a solid solution, metastable β-Ti-12Mo alloy, in which the Mo is expected to be homogenously distributed. Following TKD, APT reveals a planar segregation of Mo among other elements. Second, specimens were prepared near Σ3 twin boundaries in a high manganese twinning-induced plasticity steel, and subsequently charged with deuterium gas. Beyond a similar planar segregation, voids containing a high concentration of deuterium, i.e., bubbles, are detected in the specimen on which TKD was performed. Both examples showcase damage from TKD mapping leading to artefacts in the distribution of solutes. We propose that the structural damage is created by surface species, including H and C, subjected to recoil from incoming energetic electrons during mapping, thereby getting implanted and causing cascades of structural damage in the sample.
Date Issued
2023-06-01
Date Acceptance
2023-02-21
Citation
Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2023, 29 (3), pp.1026-1036
ISSN
1083-0375
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
1026
End Page
1036
Journal / Book Title
Microscopy and Microanalysis
Volume
29
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Microscopy Society of America.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which
permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which
permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://academic.oup.com/mam/advance-article/doi/10.1093/micmic/ozad029/7084845
Subjects
cond-mat.mtrl-sci
cond-mat.mtrl-sci
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ozad029
Date Publish Online
2023-03-23