Atom Probe Tomography of a Cu-Doped TiNiSn Thermoelectric Material: Nanoscale Structure and Optimization of Analysis Conditions
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract Cu-doping and crystallographic site occupations within the half-Heusler (HH) TiNiSn, a promising thermoelectric material, have been examined by atom probe tomography. In particular, this investigation aims to better understand the influence of atom probe analysis conditions on the measured chemical composition. Under a voltage-pulsing mode, atomic planes are clearly resolved and suggest an arrangement of elements in-line with the expected HH (F-43m space group) crystal structure. The Cu dopant is also distributed uniformly throughout the bulk material. For operation under laser-pulsed modes, the returned composition is highly dependent on the selected laser energy, with high energies resulting in the measurement of excessively high absolute Ti counts at the expense of Sn and in particular Ni. High laser energies also appear to be correlated with the detection of a high fraction of partial hits, indicating nonideal evaporation behavior. The possible mechanisms for these trends are discussed, along with suggestions for optimal analysis conditions for these and similar thermoelectric materials.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Advanced Materials Characterization Techniques · Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices · Semiconductor materials and interfaces
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
University of Oxford Department of Materials, , Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PH, UK
University of Glasgow SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, , Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
Heriot-Watt University Institute of Chemical Sciences and Centre for Advanced Energy Storage and Recovery, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, , Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
University of Sydney Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, , Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
University of Glasgow School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, , Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
Curtin University Space Science and Technology Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Science, , Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
References (33)
Show source-provided references
1. Trend for thermoelectric materials and their earth abundance10.1007/s11664-011-1839-y ↗
2. Grain-by-grain compositional variations and interstitial metals - A new route toward achieving high performance in half-Heusler thermoelectrics10.1021/acsami.7b14525 ↗
3. Suppression of thermal conductivity without impeding electron mobility in n-type XNiSn half-Heusler thermoelectrics10.1039/C9TA10128D ↗
4. High-performance bulk thermoelectrics with all-scale hierarchical architectures10.1038/nature11439 ↗
5. Dopant distributions in PbTe-based thermoelectric materials10.1007/s11664-012-1972-2 ↗
6. Nanometer scale structural and compositional inhomogeneities of half-Heusler CoTi1-xFexSb thin films10.1063/1.5082979 ↗
7. Bos · 2021 · 12510.1016/B978-0-12-818535-3.00014-1 ↗
8. Quantification of solute deuterium in titanium deuteride by atom probe tomography with both laser pulsing and high-voltage pulsing: Influence of the surface electric field10.1088/1367-2630/ab1c3b ↗
9. Role of nanostructuring and microstructuring in silver antimony telluride compounds for thermoelectric applications10.1021/acsami.7b00689 ↗
10. Role of photoexcitation and field ionization in the measurement of accurate oxide stoichiometry by laser-assisted atom probe tomography10.1021/jz400015h ↗
11. Compositions and thermoelectric properties of XNiSn (X = Ti, Zr, Hf) half-Heusler alloys10.1039/C5TC02025E ↗
12. Enabling near-atomic-scale analysis of frozen water10.1126/sciadv.abd6324 ↗
13. Xenon plasma focussed ion beam preparation of an Al-6XXX alloy sample for atom probe tomography including analysis of an α-Al (Fe, Mn) Si dispersoid
14. Gault · 201210.1007/978-1-4614-3436-8 ↗
15. Simple rules for the understanding of Heusler compounds10.1016/j.progsolidstchem.2011.02.001 ↗
16. An in-situ approach for preparing atom probe tomography specimens by xenon plasma-focussed ion beam10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.04.005 ↗
17. On the chemical composition of TiAlN thin films - Comparison of ion beam analysis and laser-assisted atom probe tomography with varying laser pulse energy10.1016/j.tsf.2019.04.026 ↗
18. Thermoelectric devices: A review of devices, architectures, and contact optimization10.1002/admt.201700256 ↗
19. Three-dimensional atom-probe tomographic analyses of lead-telluride based thermoelectric materials
20. The post-ionization of field evaporated ions: A theoretical explanation of multiple charge states10.1016/0039-6028(82)90434-4 ↗
21. Entropy as a gene-like performance indicator promoting thermoelectric materials10.1002/adma.201702712 ↗
22. Miller · 199610.1093/oso/9780198513872.001.0001 ↗
23. VESTA 3 for three-dimensional visualization of crystal, volumetric and morphology data10.1107/S0021889811038970 ↗
24. Atom probe of GaN/AlGaN heterostructures: The role of electric field, sample crystallography and laser excitation on quantification10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.112813 ↗
25. Some aspects of the field evaporation behaviour of GaSb10.1016/j.ultramic.2010.11.019 ↗
26. New results on the absolute ion detection efficiencies of a microchannel plate10.1088/0957-0233/8/4/001 ↗
27. Nanoscale stoichiometric analysis of a high-temperature superconductor by atom probe tomography10.1017/S1431927616012757 ↗
28. High thermoelectric performance in PbTe due to large nanoscale Ag 2Te precipitates and La doping10.1002/adfm.201000878 ↗
29. Complex thermoelectric materials10.1038/nmat2090 ↗
30. In situ site-specific specimen preparation for atom probe tomography10.1016/j.ultramic.2006.06.008 ↗
31. Reduction of multiple hits in atom probe tomography10.1016/j.ultramic.2012.12.005 ↗
32. Webster · 201910.1063/1.5052361 ↗
33. Revealing nano-chemistry at lattice defects in thermoelectric materials using atom probe tomography10.1016/j.mattod.2019.11.010 ↗