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Interfaces and defect composition at the near-atomic scale through atom probe tomography investigations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2018

Baptiste Gault*
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Andrew J. Breen
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Yanhong Chang
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Junyang He
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Eric A. Jägle
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Paraskevas Kontis
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Philipp Kürnsteiner
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Alisson Kwiatkowski da Silva
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Surendra Kumar Makineni
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Isabelle Mouton
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Zirong Peng
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Dirk Ponge
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Torsten Schwarz
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Leigh T. Stephenson
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Agnieszka Szczepaniak
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Huan Zhao
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
Dierk Raabe
Affiliation:
Department of Microstructure Physics and Alloys Design, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf 40237, Germany
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: b.gault@mpie.de, b.gault@imperial.ac.uk

Abstract

Atom probe tomography (APT) is rising in influence across many parts of materials science and engineering thanks to its unique combination of highly sensitive composition measurement and three-dimensional microstructural characterization. In this invited article, we have selected a few recent applications that showcase the unique capacity of APT to measure the local composition at structural defects. Whether we consider dislocations, stacking faults, or grain boundary, the detailed compositional measurements tend to indicate specific partitioning behaviors for the different solutes in both complex engineering and model alloys we investigated.

Information

Type
Invited Feature Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2018
Figure 0

FIG. 1. (a) An APT measurement of a tip that contains the phase boundary of a primary Al3(Sc,Zr) precipitate and the Al matrix. 0.05% of Al atoms, 2% of Sc atoms, and 100% of Ga atoms are shown. Misfit dislocations along the interface are highly enriched in Ga which stems from FIB sample preparation; (b) an ECCI micrograph of the same type of misfit dislocation network.

Figure 1

FIG. 2. APT reconstruction containing a high-angle grain boundary from a specimen prepared in a model Al–Mg–Zn–Cu alloy with a Ga-FIB, showing the 2D compositional maps for the main three solutes and of Ga, highlighting the strong segregation of Ga to the boundary and the precipitate–matrix interfaces.

Figure 2

FIG. 3. (a) EBSD coloured orientation and image quality maps combined around the selected grain boundary in pure-Al; (b) tomographic reconstruction from the corresponding analysis; (c) Xe-composition profile calculated along the red arrow in (b) and local point density along the cylinder used to calculate the profile.

Figure 3

FIG. 4. (a) Schematic illustration of the oxidized carbide. (b) APT analysis in the γ/γ′ region showing dislocations and γ precipitates within the γ′ precipitate. (c) APT reconstruction showing γ′/γR interface, γ precipitates within γ′, and two sets of crystallographic planes from the same crystallographic direction from each side of the interphase interface. (d) APT reconstruction within the γR solid solution in the recrystallized grain. (e) APT reconstruction from the oxidized MC carbide showing two different oxide compositions TiO2/(Ti,Ta)2O5. (f) APT reconstruction showing a γR/γ′ interface and small nitrides at the γR/γ′ interface and within the γ′ precipitate, indicative of the penetration of N within the structure, also likely assisted by the deformation process (Reprinted with permission from Ref. 54.).

Figure 4

FIG. 5. (a) ECCI of a crept CoNi-based superalloy taken near the [110] direction showing the rafted γ′ parallel to the tensile loading direction. (b) Low- and high-magnification scanning transmission electron micrographs (high-angle annular dark field) of the APT specimen along the [110] zone direction showing planar stacking fault in bright contrast. (c) Composition profiles across stacking fault, leading partial dislocation, and along the stacking fault plane. (d) Full three-dimensional compositional field of Al and schematic illustration of the diffusional processes taking place (Reprinted with permission from Ref. 66.).

Figure 5

FIG. 6. (a) TKD measurement of an APT specimen from a Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film. The red line marks a RHAGB. (b) and (c) Reconstructed APT dataset showing co-segregation of Na and K atoms at the RHAGB. (d) 1D concentration profile across the RHAGB showing an atomic redistribution (Reprinted with permission from Ref. 69.).

Figure 6

FIG. 7. APT analysis of a grain boundary decorated with Mn after 6 h at 450 °C. (a) The 12.5 at.% Mn iso-concentration surfaces (12.5 at.% Mn was chosen as a threshold value to highlight Mn-enriched regions). The detector map of the regions marked by the blue, purple, and green frames, respectively. The corresponding stereographic projections (black dots) after the identification of the main poles in the map (red dots) were superimposed. (b) Detail of the twisted low-angle grain boundary marked by the red dashed box in (a) as revealed by the iso-concentration surfaces. The grain boundary highlighted by the blue dashed box in (a) was exported and displayed in (c) using an in-plane concentration analysis inside the grain boundary plane (caption adapted and figure reproduced with authorization from Ref. 72, for which the content is covered by a CC-Attribution 4.0 licence authorizing reuse of content with modification).

Figure 7

FIG. 8. Schematic view of the progressive evolution of the Mn segregation over time: as Mn segregates to the boundary, the composition reaches point at which spinodal fluctuations appear in space, as the maximum amplitude of the spinodal waves is reached, the wavelength of the fluctuations increases.

Figure 8

FIG. 9. Atom probe crystallography analysis of a hydride precipitated at a α low-angle grain boundary in Ti–2Fe: (a) patterns formed on the detector during the analysis exhibiting the typical symmetries from the local crystalline phase highlighted by the superimposed stereograms; (b) APT reconstruction and (c) spatial distribution maps revealing the presence of atomic planes in the tomographic reconstruction near the α-Ti/hydride interface shown in (d); (e) model of the faceted α/hydride (Reprinted with permission from Ref. 82.).