Reconstructing atom probe data: A review

Atom probe tomography stands out from other materials characterisation techniques mostly due to its capacity to map individual atoms in three-dimensions with high spatial resolution. The methods used to transform raw detector data into a three-dimensional reconstruction have, comparatively to other aspects of the technique, evolved relatively little since their inception more than 15 years ago. However, due to the importance of the fidelity of the data, this topic is currently attracting a lot of interest within the atom probe community. In this review we cover: (1) the main aspects of the image projection, (2) the methods used to build tomographic reconstructions, (3) the intrinsic limitations of these methods, and (4) future potential directions to improve the integrity of atom probe tomograms.