Fifty years ago atom probe tomography (APT) enabled the first 3D tomographic atom-by-atom visualisation of conductive materials. Within the past 20 years the capacity of APT, through the implementation of a pulsed laser system, has expanded into the study of non-conductive materials, such as oxides and geological specimens. Through new developments in the area of cryogenic and vacuum transfer it is now possible to study materials that would otherwise be altered by oxidation or diffusion if exposed to atmospheric conditions, as well as material that cannot normally withstand high vacuum environments, such as hydrous biological matter.
The University of Sydney has facilitated these developments with its (ultra) high vacuum (U)HV and cryogenic interconnected suite of equipment, including: a purpose built glovebox, a scanning electron microscope-focused ion beam (SEM-FIB), and a laser-assisted local electrode atom probe. The new transfer suite enables production of the nanoscale geometries required for APT under controlled cryogenic temperatures. In this talk, we will provide an overview of this custom-designed system, along with initial results related to oxidation, hydrogen diffusion, and APT of soft matter.