APPLICATIONS OF LASER TECHNIQUES TO FIELD-ION MICROSCOPY

Laser light has been used in field ion microscopy for mainly three pur poses. First, for studying photon stimulated effects on field ionizati on and field desorption. Second, pico-second pulsed-laser technique ha s been used in time-of-flight atom-probe operation with some advantage s. Beside being able to field evaporate semiconductors and to improve the mass and energy resolution; many interesting effects have been fou nd. Third, laser light has been use for heating the very small part of the tip apex either in continuous time of in ns pulses. In the latter case, the effects of rapid heating and quenching of material surfaces , the atomic motion and surface reconstruction produced by the heating of ns laser pulses can be studied. Our studies in field ion emission, ion physics and surface science are reviewed.