SBIR-STTR Award

The DOE-funded Transmission Electron Aberration-corrected Microscope (TEAM) development project seeks to achieve the imaging and analysis of individual nanostructures at atomic resolution in three dimensions (3D). Although atomic resolution tomography has been the preferred approach, an alternative approach, atom probe field ion microscopy (APFIM), has been explored for the past decade or so. However, both existing methods, while representing the current state-of-the-art in 3D atomic-scale imaging, are inadequate for TEAM, for which no means of atomic-scale rendering currently exists. This project seeks to develop a flexible, platform-independent software application for data processing, visualization, quantification, and simulation of 3D atomic-scale images. The application will be designed to address the common need for 3D atomic-scale imaging for both TEAM and the Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP), a new generation APFIM capable of acquiring data sets comprised of ~100 M atoms. In Phase I, critical design criteria will be established, including factors such as data structure (file formats), rendering, visualization and analysis needs, user interfaces, and operating platform.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:
In addition to TEAM and LEAP, the developed software application could potentially serve as a general-purpose tool for the rendering of 3D atomic-scale structural models of individual nanostructures. The applications of the software could extend to the development of test structures for the interpretation of neutron and X-ray scattering experiments, another area of significant DOE investment