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A new approach to atomic level characterization of grain boundaries by atom probe tomography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2014

L. Yao
Affiliation:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6139, U.S.A.
M. K. Miller
Affiliation:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6139, U.S.A.
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Abstract

A novel atom probe tomography (APT) method has been developed that enables a full description of the orientation relationship between individual grains to be determined together with estimates of the extents of solute segregation for all elements over the surface of the grain boundary with 1 nm by 1 nm spatial resolution. This approach also enables variations in the solute excess for the elements with the habit plane and curvature of the grain boundary to be evaluated. The method has been applied to a mechanically-alloyed nanostructured ferritic alloy (NFA) after high dose heavy ion irradiation. The innovative high-resolution two-dimensional mapping of the solute segregation across the surface of grain boundaries in the NFA clearly demonstrates that the distributions of chromium and tungsten are not uniform across the grain boundaries, and the distributions correlate with changes in its local curvature and the position of the grain boundary precipitates. These features pin the grain boundary against grain growth and provide the stability for excellent creep properties.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

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References

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