Dislocation-based plasticity model and micro-beam Laue diffraction analysis of polycrystalline Ni foil: A forward prediction

A physically-based, rate and length-scale dependent strain gradient crystal plasticity framework was employed to simulate the polycrystalline plastic deformation at the microscopic level in a large-grained, commercially pure Ni sample. The latter was characterised in terms of the grain morphology and orientation (in the bulk) by micro-beam Laue diffraction experiments carried out on beamline B16 at Diamond Light Source. The corresponding finite element model was developed using a grain-based mesh with the specific grain orientation assignment appropriate for the sample considered. Sample stretching to 2% plastic strain was simulated, and a post-processor was developed to extract the information about the local lattice misorientation (curvature), enabling forward-prediction of the Laue diffraction patterns. The ‘streaking’ phenomenon of the Laue spots (anisotropic broadening of two-dimensional (2D) diffraction peaks observed on the 2D detector) was correctly captured by the simulation, as constructed by direct superposition of reflections from different integration points within the diffraction gauge volume. Good agreement was found between the images collected from experiments and simulation patterns at various positions in the sample.     

Using transmission Kikuchi diffraction to study intergranular stress corrosion cracking in type 316 stainless steels

Transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD), also known as transmission-electron backscatter diffraction (t-EBSD) is a novel method for orientation mapping of electron transparent transmission electron microscopy specimen in the scanning electron microscope and has been utilized for stress corrosion cracking characterization of type 316 stainless steels. The main advantage of TKD is a significantly higher spatial resolution compared to the conventional EBSD due to the smaller interaction volume of the incident beam with the specimen.Two 316 stainless steel specimen, tested for stress corrosion cracking in hydrogenated and oxygenated pressurized water reactor chemistry, were characterized via TKD. The results include inverse pole figure (IPFZ) maps, image quality maps and misorientation maps, all acquired in very short time (<60 min) and with remarkable spatial resolution (up to 5 nm step size possible). They have been used in order to determine the location of the open crack with respect to the grain boundary, deformation bands, twinning and slip. Furthermore, TKD has been used to measure the grain boundary misorientation and establish a gauge for quantifying plastic deformation at the crack tip and other regions in the surrounding matrix. Both grain boundary migration and slip transfer have been detected as well.     

A New Method of Characterising the Misorientation in Low Angle Boundaries in Hexagonal Crystals

In this work, methods used to define the misorientation between twograins in a hexagonal crystal are presented. Transformation matricesare generally used to define the misorientation and are found to beconvenient and accurate in most cases. However, in the analysis oflow angle boundaries, it is very difficult to obtain data todetermine the transformation matrix accurately. A new method isdescribed which was developed to overcome this problem and thetechnique is demonstrated using the analysis of a boundary inTi₃Al.     

Goniometry for Interface Studies in Transmission Electron Microscopy

A method using a double-tilt goniometer stage for determining the orientation of crystalline specimens in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is described. The procedure involves visual identification of two zone axes, and using the corresponding goniometer settings to plot these poles stereographically. Crystal orientations and misorientations can be established rapidly, and the method is intended for use as a practical complement to more precise but time-consuming techniques. The commutative operation of double-tilt stages and their goniometric capability are also discussed. Using Rodrigues-Frank space, it is shown that the set of attainable operations for such stages is represented by points on an hyperboloidal surface.     

The study of grain orientation distributions and grain boundary misorientation distributions in 304 and 316L stainless steels

Orientation distribution functions in two recrystallized austenitic stainless steels (AISI types 304 and 316L) with known grain boundary misorientation distributions have been studied. Previously obtained data on grain boundary spectra in these steels have been re-examined and analyzed from the point of view of texture analysis.The results obtained have shown that there is no unambiguous relatonship between grain boundary misorientation distribution and grain orientation distribution (ODF) determined by the X-ray analysis in the materials under study. This ambiguity is due to the following reason. In the grain boundary misorientation statistics only nearest-neighbor grains are taken into account, but in the orientation distribution function orientations are averaged over the entire volume of the specimen independent as to whether the grains are adjacent or not. Two main results were established for the steels under study: (i) Textures of the two steels differ, though their grain boundary misorientation distributions are similar; and (ii) misorientations of the majority of grain boundaries can be described as rotations about the axes close to 110.     

非偏振分光镜对外差干涉仪非线性误差的影响

除了激光源、偏振分光镜（PBS）和波片等偏振器件之外,非偏振分光镜（NPBS）也是外差干涉仪中重要的非线性误差源。研究了多层介质膜NPBS的退偏效应和方位角对非线性误差的影响。采用p、s分量透射比、反射比、反射相移和透射相移共同表征NPBS的退偏效应,并逐项分析了其非线性误差模型。如果入射光束为理想线偏振光,则只有NPBS的反射相移和透射相移影响测量精度。如果入射光束存在偏振椭圆化和非正交,则NPBS的方位角、透射比和反射比、相移等参数的变化都会引入非线性误差,误差曲线的斜率受椭圆率和非正交角的影响。因此选用不同的激光源,同一个NPBS产生的非线性误差大小不同,一般可达几个纳米量级。为了实现纳米/亚纳米级精度的外差干涉测量,选择性能稳定的NPBS,特别是NPBS退偏效应与激光源输出偏振态之间的匹配非常重要。     

Moiré superlattice modulations in single-unit-cell FeTe films grown on NbSe2 single crystals

Interface can be a fertile ground for exotic quantum states, including topological superconductivity, Majorana mode, fractal quantum Hall effect, unconventional superconductivity, Mott insulator, etc. Here we grow single-unit-cell (1UC) FeTe film on NbSe₂ single crystal by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and investigate the film in-situ with a home-made cryogenic scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and non-contact atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined system. We find different stripe-like superlattice modulations on grown FeTe film with different misorientation angles with respect to NbSe₂ substrate. We show that these stripe-like superlattice modulations can be understood as moiré pattern forming between FeTe film and NbSe₂ substrate. Our results indicate that the interface between FeTe and NbSe₂ is atomically sharp. By STM-AFM combined measurement, we suggest that the moiré superlattice modulations have an electronic origin when the misorientation angle is relatively small (≤ 3°) and have structural relaxation when the misorientation angle is relatively large (≥ 10°).     

Anisotropy of P Grain Boundary Segregation in a Rapidly Solidified Fe-0.6wt%P Alloy

P grain boundary segregation in an Fe-0.6wt%P alloy quenched from the melt was quantified by X-ray Mapping (XRM) in a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM). The misorientation across the boundaries was determined by using ACT (Automatic Crystallography for TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy)) and CBED (Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction). A significant range of the degree of P segregation to individual grain boundaries was found. Combination of chemical and structural studies provides evidence that P segregation to low-angle grain boundaries is reduced.