Three-dimensional ion micro-tomography

Abstract The technique of ion micro-tomography (IMT) provides three-dimensional distribution information about a sample's mass density and elemental composition. The required data are obtained by doing a scanning transmission ion microscopy (STIM) tomography experiment followed by a particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) tomography experiment. The experiment times have been vastly reduced now that data are collected with MicroDAS, the new fast data acquisition system. Moreover, the experiment is easier to perform because sample manipulation is automated via computer control. To obtain comparable spatial resolutions between the STIM and PIXE data, the PIXE tomography experiment is performed by implementing a large solid angle between the sample and X-ray detector. To correct for the inherent three-dimensional nature of such an experimental setup, a specially developed tomographic reconstruction technique is used to combine the STIM and PIXE tomography data sets to create an accurate quantitative tomogram of the sample. The efficacy of the entire IMT process is tested with a characterised “standard” sample. The calculated data agree well with the quantitative and structural information known about the sample. To interpret the three-dimensional distribution information, a special volume rendering program is used to visualise various aspects of the tomogram. Each aspect is colour coded to facilitate the easy visualisation of multiple complex three-dimensional structures.