Atom Probe Tomography (APT) Workshop for Earth Sciences

该奖项将为地球科学家组织一个以原子探针断层扫描为中心的研讨会提供资金。原子探针断层扫描是现有的用于材料表征的最高空间分辨率分析技术。 然而，尽管原子探针断层扫描技术为地球科学领域的研究人员带来了明显的好处，但它实际上对地球科学界来说却是未知的。研讨会的目的是建立一个开放的论坛，讨论该技术的潜在用途和好处，同时从地质角度向同事提供信息。 除了邀请高级研究人员之外，本次研讨会的另一个目标是研究生的参与。这项技术的优势在于能够将 3D 材料重建与原子尺度的化学成分（包括同位素）相结合，并具有接近百万分之一的分析灵敏度。场发射显微镜和原子探针技术的最新进展使得可以对地质材料进行初步分析。 APT 对矿物应用的初步结果提供了重要的地球化学信息，其空间分辨率是任何现有方法都无法实现的。因此，原子探针断层扫描正在成为一种强大的技术，它可以彻底改变地球化学研究，并重塑我们对从纳米尺度到大陆尺度的地质过程的理解。

This award will provide funding to organize a workshop centered on atom-probe tomography for geoscientists. Atom-probe tomography is the highest spatial resolution analytical technique in existence for the characterization of materials. However, atom-probe tomography is practically unknown to the geosciences community despite offering clear benefits to researchers in Earth Sciences. The aim of the workshop is to establish an open forum for the discussion of the potential uses and benefits of this technique, while providing information to colleagues from a geological perspective. Besides the invitation of senior researchers, an additional goal of this workshop is the participation of graduate students.The strength of this technique relies in the possibility of combining a 3D material reconstruction with chemical composition, including isotopes, at atomic scale with a near part-per-million analytical sensitivity. Recent advances in field emission microscopy and the atom probe technique have allowed the preliminary analysis of geological materials. First results from the APT application to minerals have provided significant geochemical information at a spatial resolution that is not achieved with any current methodology. Thus, atom-probe tomography is emerging as a powerful technique that can revolutionize research in geochemistry and re-shape our understanding of geological processes from the nanoscale to the continental scale.