Atom probe analysis of BaTiO3 enabled by metallic shielding

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to analyze BaTiO3 ceramics using atom probe tomography by applying a metallic coating, which mitigates charge-related issues caused by piezoelectric effects, improving analysis success.

Contribution

The study introduces a metallic shielding technique that enables successful atom probe analysis of BaTiO3, overcoming previous challenges with functional ceramics.

Findings

Metallic coating prevents charge penetration in BaTiO3.

Charge suppression improves atom probe analysis success.

Density-functional theory supports the shielding mechanism.

Abstract

Atom probe tomography has been raising in prominence as a microscopy and microanalysis technique to gain sub-nanoscale information from technologically-relevant materials. However, the analysis of some functional ceramics, particularly perovskites, has remained challenging with extremely low yield and success rate. This seems particularly problematic for materials with high piezoelectric activity, which may be difficult to express at the low temperatures necessary for satisfactory atom probe analysis. Here, we demonstrate the analysis of commercial BaTiO3 particles embedded in a metallic matrix. Density-functional theory shows that a metallic coating prevents charge penetration of the electrostatic field, and thereby suppresses the associated volume associated change linked to the piezoelectric effect.