Correlative atom probe tomography and optical spectroscopy: An original gateway to materials science and nanoscale physics

Atom probe tomography (APT) correlated with optical spectroscopy has yielded original results in the domain of semiconductor nanoscale heterostructures. Statistical correlation (i.e., microscopy correlated with spectroscopy performed on macroscopic samples) has opened the way to a deeper understanding of carrier localization and recombination mechanisms in quantum-well systems. However, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) can be performed even on APT samples fabricated by focused ion beam, making it possible to perform sequential correlations on a single nanoscale object, which allows for a higher precision and accuracy. Finally, the laser pulse used for triggering the evaporation in laser-assisted APT can also generate a photoluminescence signal: this opportunity is exploited in the photonic atom probe. This instrument not only represents an original and effective way to perform in situ correlative microscopy, but also opens the way to study nanoscale physical phenomena driven by field, stress, or sample shape via the interpretation of the dynamically acquired APT and PL information.