Atom probe tomography-A cornerstone in materials characterization

Frequently, fundamental scientific and technological issues are related to the chemical structure of a material at the nanometer or even atomistic length scales. This includes, but is not limited to, internal interfaces of complex topology as they appear, for example, in current energy-harvesting applications or advanced microelectronics. Scientific understanding of the underlying physics and chemistry requires advanced characterization tools that provide critical three-dimensional information at the subnanometer length scale. Atom probe tomography (APT) meets such requirements. Today, with remarkable progress in instrumentation and sample preparation, APT has become a very versatile tool to address fundamental questions of materials science. In this issue of MRS Bulletin, the APT technique is introduced, with a particular focus on recent developments and the broadening range of studied material classes and applications.