Papers by Author: Feng Zai Tang

Abstract: This paper reports the specimen preparation using an advanced dual beam focused ion beam (FIB) technique for bulk polycrystalline diamond (PCD) composites after dynamic friction polishing (DFP). The technique adapted allows for precisely processing diamond materials at the specific polishing track sites of PCD surface, from which large cross-sectional specimens for SEM/EDS/Raman microanalysis could be successfully created. In addition, an in-situ lift-out method was developed to prepare the site-specific HRTEM specimens which were thin enough for imaging the atomic lattice of diamond and for conducting EELS analysis.

Abstract: Atom probe tomography provides compositional information in three dimensions at the atomic scale, and is therefore extremely suited to the study of nanocrystalline materials. In this paper we present atom probe results from the investigation of nanocomposite TiSi¬Nx coatings and nanocrystalline Al. We address some of the major challenges associated with the study of nanocrystalline materials, including specimen preparation, visualisation, common artefacts in the data and approaches to quantitative analysis. We also discuss the potential for the technique to relate crystallographic information to the compositional maps.