Towards new aluminium alloys through advances in atom probe microscopy

The development of Al alloys has through the years significantly relied on advances in materials characterization techniques to allow deeper understanding of microstructural properties. Today, alloy development has reached a level where many of these properties are no longer discussed on micrometre or even nanometre scale, but rather on atomic scale. Consequently, atom probe microscopy (APM) has received greatly increased attention. APM is a powerful characterization technique with unmatched capability of three dimensional (3D) atomic scale studies of the structure and chemistry of materials. This presentation focusses on our on-going development of APM analysis techniques for studies of Al alloys and also demonstrates why APM has earned a vital position in the development road-maps for new alloys. Key aspects of the enabling science (emphasized in this abstract) are presented and applied to studies of Al alloys. Importantly, it is also shown how the insight gained can be used to explain and improve the alloys’ engineering properties.