The 3D atom probe( 3DAP) is an imaging instrument based on the controlled field evaporation of single atoms from a sample having a tip shape with an end radius of 50 nm. In the fs laser assisted 3DAP the evaporation is induced by the laser pulses so that the physical process involved in this 3DAP analysis might correspond to the very early stages of the ablation process. In this paper we present the principle of the 3DAP and we discuss the existing models of the fs assisted evaporation. At last, we test the relevance of these models with pump-probe experiments on tungsten tips in the tomographic atom probe. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.