Nanocrystalline and nanolaminated materials show enhanced radiation tolerance compared with their coarse-grained counterparts, since grain boundaries and layer interfaces act as effective defect sinks. Although the effects of layer interface and layer thickness on radiation tolerance of crystalline nanolaminates have been systematically studied, radiation response of crystalline/amorphous nanolaminates is rarely investigated. In this study, we show that irradiation can lead to formation of nanocrystals and nanotwins in amorphous CuNb layers in Cu/amorphous-CuNb nanolaminates. Substantial element segregation is observed in amorphous CuNb layers after irradiation. In Cu layers, both stationary and migrating grain boundaries effectively interact with defects. Furthermore, there is a clear size effect on irradiation-induced crystallization and grain coarsening. In situ studies also show that crystalline/amorphous interfaces can effectively absorb defects without drastic microstructural change, and defect absorption by grain boundary and crystalline/amorphous interface is compared and discussed. Our results show that tailoring layer thickness can enhance radiation tolerance of crystalline/amorphous nanolaminates and can provide insights for constructing crystalline/amorphous nanolaminates under radiation environment.

Serrated flow is one important characteristic of shear bands through which metallic glasses (MGs) accommodate plastic deformation. Serrated flow can be affected by intrinsic properties such as elastic modulus or extrinsic variables such as strain rate. However, the influences of pre-deformation and interfaces on serrated flow are less well understood. In this study, by using in situ micropillar compression inside a scanning electron microscope, we show that pre-deformation (consisting of cyclic loading/unloading below the nominal elastic limit) suppresses serrated flows in amorphous-CuNb but enhances serrated flows in amorphous-CuZr at both high and low strain rates. Moreover, layer interfaces in Cu/amorphous-CuNb multilayers mitigate serrated flows, and the average stress drop and strain duration associated with shear banding process can be tailored. Strain accommodation and energy dissipation via shear banding have clear impact on serrated flows. This study provides new perspectives on tailoring serrated flows and enhancing plastic deformation of MGs.

AlMg alloys have widespread industrial applications. Grain refinement techniques have been frequently used to achieve high strength in these alloys. Here, we report on the fabrication of epitaxial co-sputtered AlMg thin films with high-density growth twins. The microstructure evolution with varying Mg composition has been characterized. Nanoindentation and in-situ micropillar compression tests show that the strength of AlMg alloys increases with increasing Mg composition. The flow stress of epitaxial nanotwinned Al–10 at.% Mg thin film exceeds 800 MPa. The modified Hall–Petch plots incorporating the solid solution strengthening effect suggest that, compared to high angle grain boundaries, incoherent twin boundaries are equivalent barriers to the transmission of dislocations in nanotwinned AlMg alloys.

Metallic glasses (MGs) are known to have high strength, but poor ductility. Prior studies have shown that plasticity in MG can be enhanced by significantly reducing their dimension to nanoscale. Here we show that, via the introduction of certain types of crystalline/amorphous interfaces, plasticity of MG can be prominently enhanced as manifested by the formation of ductile “dimples” in a 2 μm thick amorphous CuNb film. By tailoring the volume fraction and architecture of crystalline/amorphous multilayers, tensile fracture surface of MG can evolve from brittle featureless morphology to containing ductile dimples. In situ micropillar compression studies performed inside a scanning electron microscope show that shear instability in amorphous layers can be inhibited by interfaces. The mechanisms for improving plasticity and fracture resistance of MG via interface and size effect are discussed.

Twins are domain crystals inside their parent crystals, where they share some of the same crystal lattice points in a symmetrical manner. The formation and growth of twins result in substantial evolution of microstructures and properties in a large variety of metallic materials. Twin boundaries that separate two crystals effectively strengthen the material by impeding mobile dislocations, and increase the ductility and work-hardening capability of metallic materials. The articles in this issue of MRS Bulletin overview the synthesis and mechanical behavior of nanotwinned metallic materials, as well as plasticity dominated by mechanical twinning.

Recent studies have shown that chemical immiscibility is important to achieve enhanced radiation tolerance in metallic multilayers as immiscible layer interfaces are more stable against radiation induced mixing than miscible interfaces. However, as most of these immiscible systems have incoherent interfaces, the influence of coherency on radiation resistance of immiscible systems remains poorly understood. Here, we report on radiation response of immiscible Cu/Fe multilayers, with individual layer thickness h varying from 0.75 to 100 nm, subjected to He ion irradiation. When interface is incoherent, the peak bubble density decreases with decreasing h and reaches a minimum when h is 5 nm. At even smaller h when interface is increasingly coherent, the peak bubble density increases again. However, void swelling in coherent multilayers with smaller h remains less than those in incoherent multilayers. Our study suggests that the coherent immiscible interface is also effective to alleviate radiation induced damage.

Band contrast (BC) is a qualitative measure of electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD), which is derived from the intensity of the Kikuchi bands. The BC is dependent upon several factors including scanning electron microscope measurement parameters, EBSD camera setup, and the specimen itself (lattice defect and grain orientation). In this study, the effective factors for BC variations and the feasibility of using BC variations for the quantification of microstructure evolutions have been investigated. In addition, the effects of the lattice defect and the grain orientation on the BC variations are studied. Next, a shear-deformed microstructure of 316L stainless steel, which contains nanosized grains and a large portion of twin boundaries, is revealed by BC map and histogram. Recovery and recrystallization of shear-deformed 316L stainless steel are displayed by BC variations during isothermal annealing at 700 and 800°C, respectively. It is observed that the BC turns bright as the shear-deformed crystal structure is recovered or recrystallized.

Sputter-deposited epitaxial (111) and (110) Ag films have high-density nanotwins with respective twin boundary orientations perpendicular and angled to the growth direction. Twin density in as-deposited (111) Ag films is much greater than in (110) films, leading to higher hardness in the (111) films. Annealing up to 800 °C (homologous temperature of 0.85 Tm) leads to increased twin thickness, although the average twin thickness remains <100 nm in both systems. Twinned volume fraction falls dramatically in annealed (110) films but remains constant at ∼50% in (111) films. The mechanisms leading to the elimination of nanotwins in (110) films and their remarkable stability in (111) films at elevated temperatures are discussed. Coarsening and elimination of twins result in hardness reduction after annealing. The variety of microstructures achieved via annealing allows for the introduction of a strengthening model considering both twin and grain boundaries.

We investigate the collective effect of a high volume fraction of ∑3 twin boundaries on the response of nanotwinned Cu to high dose He implantation near room temperature and find that they do not curtail the formation of vacancy and interstitial clusters. This result is rationalized through atomistic modeling, which shows that point defects at these boundaries have nearly identical properties to those in pure fcc Cu.

Microstructural and electrical properties of Gd-doped CeO2 (GDC; Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95) thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition as an electrolyte in solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) were investigated. The GDC thin films were prepared on various substrates including single-crystal yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and magnesium oxide (MgO) substrates. The GDC thin-film electrolytes with different grain sizes and grain morphologies were prepared by varying the deposition parameters, such as substrate temperature, oxygen partial pressure, target repetition rate, and laser ablation energy. The microstructural properties of these films were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Alternating-current (AC) and direct-current (DC) electrical measurements through in-plane method show that the electrical property of the GDC thin film strongly depends on grain size, e.g., the total conductivity of the films deposited at 700 °C (7.3 × 10−3 S/cm) is about 20 times higher than the ones deposited at room temperature (3.6 × 10−4 S/cm) at the measurement temperature of 600 °C.

Nanocrystalline Zn was prepared by cryomilling (mechanical attrition at liquid nitrogen temperature). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the structural changes and grain size distribution with milling time and subsequent annealing. Maxima in both stored enthalpy (for the low-temperature DSC peak) and lattice strain on the Zn basal planes were observed at the same milling time. Dislocation density on the basal planes is proposed as a major source for lattice strain and the measured stored enthalpy. The released enthalpy that might be due to grain growth is very small.