Field Ion Microscopy

Abstract

The field ionization microscope (FIM) is, at present, the only available experimental device that routinely permits direct observation of atomic detail on surfaces. Accordingly, the FIM affords an opportunity to examine materials of electrochemical interest on a scale in which the elementary processes of electrodic reactions take place. The invention and steady improvement of the FIM has taken place over the past few decades, principally under the direction of Muller.(1) In his laboratory and, more recently, elsewhere, effort has been devoted to perfection of equipment and to studies of the basic processes of field ionization and field evaporation of the substrate. The invention by Muller in 1968 of the atom probe—a combination of FIM and time of flight mass spectrometry—has permitted fresh insights regarding the fundamental mechanisms of field ionization and field evaporation.(2) At present, the FIM is a well-developed tool for surface studies.