A newly built focusing-type time-of-flight atom-probe is capable of (1) achieving 100% detection efficiency and (2) performing mass analyses under truly ultra-high vacuum conditions (10-11 Torr). The details of the instrumentation and its performance are presented.
As for its applications into materials science, we discuss the following topics : (1) surface and grain boundary segregation of binary alloys, (2) metal-semiconductor interfaces and (3) metastable phases of Al-Ag alloys.