Interpreting atom probe data from chromium oxide scales

Alexandre La Fontaine; Baptiste Gault; Andrew Breen; Leigh Stephenson; Anna V Ceguerra; Limei Yang; Thuan Dinh Nguyen; Jianqiang Zhang; David J Young; Julie M Cairney

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2015.02.005

Interpreting atom probe data from chromium oxide scales

Ultramicroscopy. 2015 Dec:159 Pt 2:354-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2015.02.005. Epub 2015 Feb 14.

Affiliations

¹ School of Aerospace, Mechanical, Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
² Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁴ School of Aerospace, Mechanical, Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address: julie.cairney@sydney.edu.au.

PMID: 25796357
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2015.02.005

Abstract

Picosecond-pulsed ultraviolet-laser (UV-355 nm) assisted atom probe tomography (APT) was used to analyze protective, thermally grown chromium oxides formed on stainless steel. The influence of analysis parameters on the thermal tail observed in the mass spectra and the chemical composition is investigated. A new parameter termed "laser sensitivity factor" is introduced in order to quantify the effect of laser energy on the extent of the thermal tail. This parameter is used to compare the effect of increasing laser energy on thermal tails in chromia and chromite samples. Also explored is the effect of increasing laser energy on the measured oxygen content and the effect of specimen base temperature and laser pulse frequency on the mass spectrum. Finally, we report a preliminary analysis of molecular ion dissociations in chromia.

Keywords: Atom probe tomography; Corrosion; Field evaporation; Oxides.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't