An integrated high temperature environmental cell for atom probe tomography studies of gas-surface reactions: Instrumentation and results

• Designed and built atom probe environmental cell for in situ reactions.
• Investigated Al oxidation, and demonstrated improvement with new cell.
• in situ APT analysis of Pt-alloys showed surface segregation of Rh and Ir.

An integrated environmental cell has been designed and developed for the latest generation of Atom Probe Tomography LEAP™ instruments, allowing controlled exposure of samples to gases at high temperatures. Following treatment, samples can be transferred through the LEAP vacuum system for subsequent APT analysis, which provides detailed information on changes to chemical microstructures following the reactions with near-atomic resolution. A full description of the cell is presented, along with some sample results on the oxidation of aluminum and two platinum-group alloys, demonstrating the capability of combining exposure/characterization functionality in a single instrument.