Atom probe tomography (APT) combines 3-dimensional atomistic spatial reconstruction with time-of-flight mass spectrometry to provide chemical information in three dimensions down to sub-nanometre scales. Traditionally applied to metallurgical research, over the past ~10 years this technique has been expanded to include the analysis of semiconductors, non-conductive materials, device structures, and even some biological specimens.
More recently APT has found its first applications of significance within the geoscience research community. Though only a handful of publications have so far appeared, this is expected to become a growth area as previous nano-scale characterization studies are extended, providing further insights into existing problems, and new areas of investigation are made accessible via the high spatial resolution provided by APT.
This presentation will review work to date on the application of atom probe tomography in geoscience research. Recent results will be presented from the newly-established Geoscience Atom Probe Facility located at Curtin University; including the analysis of trace element distributions in zircon, a mineral widely used in U-Pb isotopic dating. The high resolution of the technique provides new opportunities in geochronology development. More foundational studies will also be reported, which lay the groundwork for the application of this powerful technique to new geological material systems.