Field ion microscopy (FIM) is an analytical technique used in
materials science. The field ion microscope is a type of
microscope that can be used to image the arrangement of
atoms at the surface of a sharp metal tip. It was the first technique by which individual atoms could be spatially resolved. The technique was pioneered by
Erwin Müller. Images of atomic structures of tungsten were first published in 1951 in the journal Zeitschrift für Physik.
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