Crystal structure of a long period stacking ordered (LPSO) phase newly found in Mg-Al-Gd ternary alloys was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Mg-Al-Gd LPSO phase was confirmed to be constructed with 6-layer structural blocks, which is similar to the case of the 18R-type LPSO phases in the other Mg-TM-RE alloys. Atomic resolution high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) STEM imaging revealed that Gd atoms are enriched in four layers instead of two layers and are ordered in a long range within the 6-layer structural block.

The influence of a heat-treatment on the plastic deformation behavior in Mg12ZnY with a long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) structure was investigated by using crystals grown by the Bridgman method. Annealing of the crystal at 798 K for 3 days induced the change in the crystal structure of Mg12ZnY from the 18-fold rhombohedral structure (18R) to the 14-fold hexagonal structure (14H). The plastic behavior of those LPSO crystals showed a large variation depending on the loading axis in both crystals, because of the limitation of operative deformation modes in them. The change in the stacking sequence in the LPSO crystals did not show a large influence on the plastic deformation behavior at room temperature.