Tools
Turn knowledge into results.
23 tools and 44 labs. Each says what goes in and what comes out. All free, all in the browser, nothing to install.
Not sure which tool you need?
Start with the Research Guide
Atom’s Research Guide
A decision tree covering 35+ characterization techniques. A few clicks take you from your question to the techniques to use, the order to run them in, sample prep and what to watch out for.
Open the guide →Browse tools by category
All 67 tools and labs, six kinds of job
3 toolsIndex & orientPattern in, zone axis or tilt direction out.
- SAED Zone-Axis Indexerpattern → zone-axis candidates
- CBED Symmetry Tableswhole-pattern and bright-field symmetry → point group candidates
- Kikuchi Map Navigatororientation → band to follow, tilt angles
6 toolsMeasureFringes or a spectrum in, a thickness or a calibration out.
- Diffraction Distortion & Camera Constant Calibratorring pattern → distortion + camera constant
- Ring Pattern Calibrationring pattern + standard → camera constant
- CBED Thickness ToolK-M fringes → specimen thickness
- Quantitative HAADFHAADF intensity + detector angles → thickness or column count
- HRTEM Lattice ToolHRTEM image or FFT → lattice spacings and angles
- EELS Thickness Calculatorlow-loss spectrum → t/λ
2 toolsPlanOrientation map in, the grain to lift and the stage recipe out.
- g·b Invisibility Plannercrystal + candidate Burgers vectors → which g makes each one vanish
- Which Grain Do I Lift Out?orientation map → best grain + stage recipe
8 toolsSimulateSet the condition, watch the image respond.
- SAED Pattern Simulatorstructure + zone axis → kinematic, Bloch or multislice pattern
- Weak-Beam Tilt Simulatortilts → two-beam and g(3g) conditions
- Bend Contoursbent foil + g → contour image, many beams
- Two-Beam Defect Simulatordefect + g, s, thickness → bright- and dark-field image
- GPA Strain Mappinglattice image → strain maps and scan checks
- EELS Fine Structure & Oxidation StateL-edge spectrum → oxidation state
- EFTEM Elemental Mappingthree filtered images → elemental maps
- EBSD Pattern Simulatorcrystal + orientation + detector → dynamical Kikuchi pattern
4 toolsCalculateModels and converters you can push: wear rates, phase diagrams, ordering, kinetics.
- EELS Core-Loss Quantificationcore-loss edges → composition
- EDS QuantificationX-ray peak counts + k-factors → composition
- Beam Damage in the TEMkV, current, pixel size → dose and damage budget
- Wear Rate Calculatora scar or a mass loss + load and distance → every wear rate
44 toolsLabsInteractive models for alloy thermodynamics and kinetics.
- Regular Solution & Scheil-Gulliver Labinteraction energy → phase diagram, Scheil profile
- Spinodal, Nucleation & Coarsening Labcomposition, temperature → decomposition path
- Bragg-Williams Order-Disorder Labtemperature → order parameter, superlattice spots
- Kinetics for Real Alloys Labcooling path → TTT/CCT, case depth
- Ordered Intermetallic Structures
- Hume-Rothery Rules
- Short-Range Order
- Detecting Short-Range Order with APT
- 4D-STEM and Diffuse Scattering
- Correlative APT and TEM
- Microstructure Under a Sliding Contact
- Grain Boundary Migration
- Subsurface Contact Stresses
- Fretting & Partial Slip
- Running-in & Wear Scar Growth
- Surface Roughness Parameters
- Tribofilms & Third Bodies
- Atomic-Scale Friction
- Rolling Contact & Traction
- Tribocorrosion
- Micropillar Compression
- Microcantilever Bending
- Nanoindentation Mapping
- Hardness Scales & Conversions
- Residual Stress from Indentation
- Indentation & Grain Orientation
- SEM Imaging Basicsmaterial, kV, detector, current → interaction volume, contrast, noise
- Measuring Grain Sizemicrostructure, method → grain size, ASTM G
- Diffusion Couples & Fick's Lawstemperature, time, D(c) → profile, diffusion distance
- Grain Growth & Zener Pinningparticles, mobility → grain size vs time, limiting size
- Lubrication Regimes & Stribeck Curvespeed, viscosity, load, roughness → film thickness, regime, friction
- Flash Temperatureload, speed, friction, materials → flash and bulk temperature
- Why Friction Is Not a Material Constantsurfaces, lubricant, stiffness → friction coefficient, stick-slip
- ECCI: Channeling Contrasttilt, reflection, kV → ECCI contrast, visibility depth
- Aberration CorrectionCs, Cc, defocus, aperture → CTF, probe size, resolution
- 4D-STEM Basicsscan, detector, dose → virtual images, orientation, strain, data size
- Dislocations & Burgers Vectorsshear stress → slip step, Burgers vector, force on the line
- Schmid Factor & Slip Systemsloading direction → ranked slip systems, yield stress
- Strengthening Mechanismsgrain size, particles, solute, dislocations → yield strength
- Reading a Tensile Curvematerial → stress-strain curve, yield, UTS, elongation
- Elastic AnisotropyCij → E by direction, polycrystal averages
- Fracture Toughness & Kcrack length, stress → K, failure, critical flaw size
- Fatigue & S-N Curvesstress amplitude, mean stress → cycles to failure
- Creep & Deformation Mapsstress, temperature, grain size → creep rate, mechanism
Popular tools
Most used
SAED Zone-Axis Indexerpattern → zone-axis candidatesFree online SAED indexing tool: upload a TEM selected-area electron diffraction pattern, click the transmitted beam and two spots, and identify the zone axis: calibration-free, for FCC, BCC, SC, diamond, HCP and custom lattices.SAED Pattern Simulatorstructure + zone axis → kinematic, Bloch or multislice patternFree in-browser electron diffraction simulator: 604 built-in structures or your CIF, any zone axis, kinematical or many-beam dynamical intensities with a thickness slider, precession, CBED discs, Kikuchi lines, the Ewald-sphere section, your own pattern with a residual fit and off-zone estimate, symmetry readout, CTF and partially coherent HRTEM tableau, HOLZ lines, Bloch-wave STEM images with thermal diffuse scattering (BF, ABF, ADF, HAADF), and a WebGPU frozen-phonon multislice engine (PRISM S-matrix or scanned probe) for supercells with dislocations, stacking faults and column substitutions.CBED Thickness ToolK-M fringes → specimen thicknessFree in-browser tool: upload a two-beam CBED pattern (JPG, PNG, TIFF, Velox EMD), mark the 000 and hkl discs, auto-detect Kossel–Möllenstedt fringe minima, and get thickness with uncertainty plus extinction distance from a Kelly–Allen fit.
Start from your data
What do you have in hand?
A diffraction pattern (SAED)
- SAED Zone-Axis Indexerzone-axis candidates
- How to Measure a d-Spacingd-spacing with an error bar
- SAED Pattern Simulatorkinematic, Bloch or multislice pattern
- Kikuchi Map Navigatorband to follow, tilt angles
A ring pattern from a standard
- Ring Pattern Calibrationcamera constant
- Diffraction Distortion & Camera Constant Calibratordistortion + camera constant
A CBED pattern
- CBED Thickness Toolspecimen thickness
- CBED Symmetry Tablespoint group candidates
An HRTEM or HAADF image
- HRTEM Lattice Toollattice spacings and angles
- Quantitative HAADFthickness or column count
A dislocation you want to image
- g·b Invisibility Plannerwhich g makes each one vanish
- Two-Beam Defect Simulatorbright- and dark-field image
- Weak-Beam Tilt Simulatortwo-beam and g(3g) conditions
- Bend Contourscontour image, many beams
An EELS or EDS spectrum
- EELS Thickness Calculatort/λ
- EELS Core-Loss Quantificationcomposition
- EDS Quantificationcomposition
An EBSD map
- Which Grain Do I Lift Out?best grain + stage recipe
- EBSD Pattern Simulatordynamical Kikuchi pattern
A wear scar or a mass loss
- Wear Rate Calculatorevery wear rate
An alloy and a heat treatment
- Regular Solution & Scheil-Gulliver Labphase diagram, Scheil profile
- Spinodal, Nucleation & Coarsening Labdecomposition path
- Bragg-Williams Order-Disorder Laborder parameter, superlattice spots
- Kinetics for Real Alloys LabTTT/CCT, case depth
A full workflow, tool to tool
Calibrate, index, check
The tools hand results to each other. Here is the chain most people run first.
- 1CalibrateRing Pattern Calibration
Load a gold or silicon ring pattern. The page finds the rings, fits the camera constant and the distortion, and saves the calibration in your browser.
- 2IndexSAED Zone-Axis Indexer
Upload your own pattern. The indexer reads the saved calibration, you click the centre and two spots, and it lists the zone axes that fit, best first.
- 3CheckSAED Pattern Simulator
Simulate that zone axis for your crystal and overlay it on your pattern. A residual fit tells you whether the index is right, or whether a twin or double diffraction is fooling you.
Need a tool that isn't here?
Tell me what you measure.
Say what goes in and what number you need out. If it is a job many people do by hand, it may become the next tool on this page.