A new approach to preparing tips for atom probe field ion microscopy from powder materials

A new approach to preparing tips for atom probe field ion microscopy from powder materials is described. It is especially useful for particle sizes exceeding >0.050 mm. Particles resulting from mechanical alloying of Cu and Ag, and from cryomilling of conventional Ni powders have been prepared this way for field ion imaging and atom probe composition analysis. In both cases, useful information complementing results from transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction was obtained.