Field emission and field evaporation behavior provides the underpinning physics of several technically relevant applications and characterization techniques. Field evaporation or emission nominally requires a sharp point, typically of the diameter of a tens of nanometers, where a few thousand volts is sufficient for the tip to either emit electrons or evaporate ions, depending on the potential. Many applications and developments in modern microscopy and materials characterization techniques depend upon these phenomena. To stimulate technical discussions on these and other relevant topics, The University of Alabama will host The 53rd International Field Emission Society (IFES) Conference and Pre-meeting Tutorial.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
The University of Alabama will host The 53rd International Field Emission Society (IFES) Conference and Pre-meeting Tutorial to address training and knowledge dissemination in the theory and practical use of field emission and field evaporation for advanced materials research.
The 53rd International Field Emission Symposium (IFES) was held on the campus of The University of Alabama (UA), Tuscaloosa, Alabama USA from May 21st – May 25th, 2012. On May 20th, 2012 a pre-meeting workshop was also held in conjunction with the technical meeting. IFES 2012 attracted more than 170 participants, with over 40 students, from 15 countries. During the week-long conference, 110 technical presentations were given in the form of plenary lectures, invited presentations and contributed talks. An additional 70 posters were presented in two evening sessions. The conference provided a venue for the exchange of new ideas in the high field nanoscience and atom probe tomography fields. Four pre-meeting workshop tutorials were given. Professor Hans Jürgen Kreuzer, Dalhousie University, discussed contemporary issues in high field nanoscience. His lecture was followed by Professor Krishna Rajan, Iowa State University, who discussed the application of computational methods for improving atom probe reconstructions. The final morning tutorial was given by Dr. Michael Moody, Oxford University, on cluster analysis in the atom probe. In the afternoon, Cameca Instruments, led by Robert Ulfig, gave participants a unique opportunity for a hands-on tutorial in atom probe reconstructions using a computer laboratory on the UA campus. The prestigious J.H. Block Memorial lecture was presented by Dr. Angela Vella, Université de Rouen, on "The study of laser-matter interactions by laser assisted atom probe tomography." Manuel Roussel, Université de Rouen, was awarded the E.W. Müller Young Scientist recognition for his paper and presentation entitled "Phase transformation in SiOx/SiO2 multilayers: Materials for optoelectronic and microelectronic applications." In addition, two poster winners, one from each evening, were also recognized. These individuals were Ryota Gemm for "Atom Probe Analysis of Deuterium-Loaded Fe/V Multi-Layers at Different Deuterium Pressures" and Lorenzo Rigutti for "Correlation of Micro-Photoluminescence Spectroscopy and Atom Probe Tomography on Single Nano-Objects: Preliminary Results and Perspectives." The conference culminated with an excursion to the NASA Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama with the awards banquet held in the Davidson Center under a Saturn V rocket, the same rocket used to send man to the moon. At the banquet, the 2014 symposium location was announced. It is to be held in Münster, Germany, with Professor Guido Schmitz as the lead organizer. A business development that came out of IFES 2012 was a re-branding of the conference name to "Atom Probe Tomography and Microscopy" (APT&M) under the auspices of the International Field Emission Society. This is in response to the Society’s strength to be able to capture the growing attention of atom probe tomography within the larger scientific community. The proceedings for the conference will be published in Ultramicroscopy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Elsevier with Professors Gregory Thompson, Guido Schmitz and Bernard Deconihout serving as guest editors.
