# A gas-phase reaction cell for modern Atom Probe systems

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel gas-phase reaction cell compatible with Atom Probe Tomography, enabling detailed analysis of gas-surface interactions, especially hydrogen embrittlement in metals, across a wide pressure range and various gases.

## Contribution

It presents a new system for studying gas interactions with surfaces in Atom Probe Tomography, including heating and cryogenic capabilities, and demonstrates its application on metal samples.

## Key findings

- Hydrogen interacts with Pd surfaces as observed.
- Water vapor and oxygen interactions with Mg were characterized.
- System operates effectively from 10^-6 to 1000 mbar pressure.

## Abstract

In this work, we demonstrate a new system for the examination of gas interactions with surfaces via Atom Probe Tomography. This system provides the capability to examine the surface and subsurface interactions of gases with a wide range of specimens, as well as a selection of input gas types. This system has been primarily developed to aid the investigation of hydrogen interactions with metallurgical samples, to better understand the phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement. In its current form, it is able to operate at pressures from 10^-6 to 1000 mbar (abs), can operate using a variety of gasses, and is equipped with heating and cryogenic quenching capabilities. We use this system to examine the interaction of hydrogen with Pd, as well as the interaction of water vapour and oxygen in Mg samples.