In-situ NMR study of dislocation motion in Ca-doped NaCl crystals

Using a fast multi-window NMR technique, we have measured in-situ the mean jump width x of mobile dislocations during plastic deformation in a series of NaCl single crystals with varying Ca⁺⁺ content. Aside from immobile forest dislocations, the Ca⁺⁺ impurities form additional obstacles for the moving dislocations thus lowering x. We found that the Ca⁺⁺-related obstacles exhibit a pronounced non-random distribution which results in a corresponding broad distribution of x. We show that the data can be evaluated by means of an appropriate distribution function g(1/x) with an uncommon dependence of the observed fitting parameters on the Ca⁺⁺ content. As expected, quenching of a sample leads to a more uniform distribution of the Ca⁺⁺-related obstacles resulting in a corresponding narrowing of g(1/x).     

Magnetic studies of the dislocation structure of iron single crystals deformed at 295 K

The dislocation density in iron single crystals deformed at 295 K has been studied by measuring the coercive field, the initial susceptibility, the Rayleigh constant, and the reversible susceptibility in the approach to ferromagnetic saturation as functions of the resolved shear stress. The influence of different dislocation types on the saturation susceptibility has been calculated. In this way it is possible to distinguish dislocation structures composed of screw or edge dislocations and to reveal long-range internal stresses, which govern the work-hardening in the deformation stage II/III. The dislocation density increases in stage I linearly and in stage II/III quadraticaly with the resolved shear stress. In stage O mainly isolated screw dislocations are created.     

Defect structure in EuS single crystals grown from the melt

The defect structure in EuS single crystals grown form the melt is studied by etch pitting, scanning and high-voltage electron microscopy. Circular and square etch pits and a second phase in the shape of thin hexagonal platelets are observed by etching. Microprobe analysis indicates the platelets to consist of Eu metal. In the transmission electron microscope, smoothly curved dislocations and helical dislocations, small dislocation loops and inclusions associated with dislocations are observed. The possible origin of the detected dislocation structure is considered with reference to climb and glide processes occurring during cooling down the grown crystals. The results corroborate the glide geometry of the NaCl lattice for EuS. On leave from Institute of Physics, Academic Sinica, Peking, VR China     

TEM investigation of the interaction between dislocation and nitride precipitates in deformed high manganese-chromium austenitic steels

The interaction between dislocations and nitride precipitates during high-temperature creep deformation of high manganese austenitic steels has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Most of the dislocations activated by applied stress were dissociated into Shockley partials. The fine TiN precipitates are pinning and/or incorporating the bow-type moving dislocations and they turned out to be more effective than the coarser TaN in disturbing the dislocation movement.     

Diffusion and solubility of zinc in dislocation-free and plastically deformed silicon crystals

Floating-zone Si crystals enclosed in quartz ampoules were exposed to Zn vapour released by an elemental diffusion source. Penetration profiles of Zn in Si were recorded using the spreading-resistance technique or neutron activation analysis. Both the erfc-type distributions observed in plastically deformed specimens and the non-erfc profiles determined on dislocationfree wafers are consistently interpreted within the framework of the kick-out model. As an implication, Si self-interstitials generated in excess by interstitial-to-substitutional transitions of in-diffusing Zn atoms annihilate not only at the surface but also at dislocations. On the other hand, dislocation-induced segregation of Zn appears to be rather minor, as revealed by transition electron microscopy. Combining the Zn incorporation rate in dislocation-free Si with solubility data from saturated specimens yields the self-interstitial contribution to the Si self-diffusion coefficient.Dedicated to H.J. Queisser on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Reshock Response of 2A12 Aluminum Alloy at High Pressures

By means of mounting the specimen on a low-impedance buffer, reshock experiments were carried out on a 2A12 almninum alloy up to shock stresses＇ of 67.6 GPa. Reshock wave profiles from the initial shock stresses of 60.9-67.6 GPa were measured with a velocity interferometer, and it shows that the 2A12 aluminum alloy characterizes as quasi-elastic response during recompression process. The Lagrange longitudinal velocities along the reloading path from initial shock state were obtained from two shots of experiments, while the bulk velocities at corresponding shock stresses were determined via extrapolating from the public reported unloading plastic sound velocities. Combining the reshock and the release experimental results, the yield strength of 2A12 aluminum alloy at shock stress of 60.9 GPa was estimated to be about 1.7GPa.     

On the foundations of stochastic dislocation dynamics

A stochastic approach to dislocation dynamics is proposed that starts off from considering the geometrically necessary fluctuations of the local stress and strain rate caused by long-range dislocation interactions during plastic flow. On a mesoscopic scale, a crystal undergoing plastic deformation is thus considered an effective fluctuating medium. The auto- and cross-correlation functions of the effective stress and the plastic strain rate are derived. The influences of dislocation multiplication, storage and cross slip on the correlation functions are discussed. Various analogies and fundamental differences to the statistical mechanics of thermodynamic equilibrium are outlined. Application of the theory of noise-induced transitions to dislocation dynamics gives new insight into the physical origin of the spontaneous formation of dislocation structures during plastic deformation. The results demonstrate the importance of the strain-rate sensitivity in dislocation patterning.     

Magnetic properties of HITPERM-type alloys at high temperature

(Fe,Co)–Zr,Hf)–Cu–B (HITPERM-type) alloys with variable Hf, Zr and Co content were isothermally crystallised at 500–650 °C for 1 h, and the optimum nanocrystallisation temperature was selected on the basis of the minimum coercive field at room temperature. The quasistatic hysteresis loops were measured at temperature from 20 to 650 °C. Subsequently, the optimally annealed alloys were subjected to long-term annealing at 500, 550 and 600 °C. Working temperature of 600°C is too high for the investigated alloys to maintain stable magnetic properties. Temperature of 550 or 500 °C permits the material to be magnetically stable for a long period. The magnetic hysteresis loops recorded for the nanocrystalline alloys, where Fe:Co ratio is close to 1 and refractory metals content is 7 at.%, prove that coercive field increases slightly with temperature, but remains in the range of 20–40 A/m (depending on the alloy composition) from 20 to 550 °C. This proves that the investigated alloys, after optimisation of chemical composition, may be suitable for high temperature use.     

Temperature-induced rearrangement of the dislocation pattern of Persistent Slip Bands in copper single crystals

Experimental investigations are reported on mechanisms by which dislocation arrangements of Persistent Slip Bands (PSBs) respond to changes of the deformation temperature. Copper single crystals orientated for single slip were cyclically deformed well into saturation at 300 K at an applied resolved plastic shear-strain amplitude, , such that the plastic strain became localized in PSBs. The spacings of the dislocation walls in these PSBs are about 1.4 m. After the temperature had been lowered to 77 K, cyclic deformation was continued with unchanged . A transformation of the dislocation pattern started. A certain fraction of the PSBs produced at 300 K finally showed a mean wall spacing of about 0.7 m which is typical for PSBs formed at 77 K. The remaining PSBs did not finish the transformation and became obviously inactive. In the state of cyclic saturation reattained at 77 K 50% of the PSBs, which had been formed at 300 K, show the dislocation pattern characteristic of 77 K. It is concluded that the amplitude of the resolved plastic shear strain localized in a PSB, , must be twice as large at 77 K as at 300 K. In an additional series of experiments crystals were cyclically deformed at constant temperatures of 430 K, 300 K, 190 K, and 77 K. In the temperature range covered by these experiments, the amplitude of the saturation flow stress, _S, appears to be proportional to the intrinsic amplitude of the PSBs, .     

Measurement and Analysis of Spall Characteristics of High-Pure Aluminium at One-Dimensional Strain Loading

With an impact velocity varying from 196.9m/s to 317.9m/s and ratios of flyer/sample thickness of 2：4 and 3：6, the free-surface velocity profiles of the shock compressed high purity aluminium （HPA 99.999%） samples are measured with a velocity interferometer system for any reflector. Based on the vibrating features of the velocity profiles, the damage behaviour of HPA is analysed. The results indicate that the vibrating amplitude increases with increasing shock stress, and the subsequent reverberations describing the spall become more obvious. When the shock stress in the material is below a critical or smaller than the threshold level, the free-surface velocity profile replicates virtually the form of the compression pulse inside the sample. When the impact stress exceeds a critical value （1.4 GPa）, the micro damage would appear, and the free-surface velocity profile changes significantly, showing a series of short-duration reverberations in the profile. When the impact stress exceeds the threshold of damage, a compressive disturbance called the ＂spall pulse＂ appears in the free-surface velocity profile, and the subsequent reverberation becomes regular again. The measured spall strength of HPA is much higher than those of commercially pure aluminium reported in many references. In addition, the strength of HPA is similar to that of single-crystal aluminium.     

Effects of an inhomogeneous elliptic insert on the elastic field of an edge dislocation

The problem of an edge dislocation in the vicinity of an elliptical inhomogeneity is solved analytically in the form of infinite series. The inhomogeneous inclusion is assumed to be either perfectly bonded or sliding along the interface with the surrounding matrix. The problem is formulated in terms of Papkovich-Neuber displacement potentials and the results for the perfectly bonded and sliding interface are compared. The effects of the inclusion/matrix shear moduli ratio, inclusion/dislocation relative distance and inclusion aspects ratio on the interface stresses and the dislocation force are evaluated.     

Magnetic studies of thermally treated Re–Fe (Re = Nd, Gd, and Tb) mixed oxides

-2 , its fast increase similar to the burst effect, and the magnetostriction hysteresis were found in this investigation. Recieved: 17 December 1997/Accepted: 25 August 1998     

Anomalies in low-temperature lattice parameters of ErFeO3 and ErAlO3 single crystals: correlation with magnetic properties

The paper presents the results of an experimental study of thermal expansion of isostructural orthorhombic ErFeO₃ and ErAlO₃ single crystals. Changes of lattice parameters have been investigated by X-ray measurements in the 10-300 K temperature range. Above ∼150 K, experimental results correspond well to the phonon mechanism. At low temperatures distinct anisotropic anomalies were observed in both compounds; and a correlation with the magnetic properties of the relevant ions is noted.     

Plasticity and ab initio characterizations on Fe4N produced on the surface of nanocrystallized 18Ni-maraging steel plasma nitrided at lower temperature

18Ni-maraging steel has been entirely nanocrystallized by a series of processes including solution treatment, hot-rolling deformation, cold-drawn deformation and direct electric heating. The plasma nitriding of nanocrystallized 18Ni-maraging steel was carried out at 410 °C for 3 h and 6 h in a mixture gas of 20% N₂ + 80% H₂ with a pressure of 400 Pa. The surface phase constructions and nitrogen concentration profile in surface layer were analyzed using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and the glow discharge spectrometry (GDS), respectively. The results show that an about 2 μm thick compound layer (mono-phase γ′-Fe₄N) can be produced on the top of the surface layer of nanocrystallized 18Ni-maraging steel plasma nitrided at 410 °C for 6 h. The measured hardness value of the nitrided surface is 11.6 GPa. More importantly, the γ′-Fe₄N phase has better plasticity, i.e., its plastic deformation energy calculated from the load-displacement curve obtained by nano-indentation tester is close to that of nanocrystallized 18Ni-maraging steel. Additionally, the mechanical properties of γ′-Fe₄N phase were also characterized by first-principles calculations. The calculated results indicate that the hardness value and the ratio of bulk to shear modulus (B/G) of the γ′-Fe₄N phase are 10.15 GPa and 3.12 (>1.75), respectively. This demonstrates that the γ′-Fe₄N phase has higher hardness and better ductility.     

Diffusion-induced decay of disclinations and solid state amorphization in mechanically alloyed materials

A theoretical model is proposed which treats the diffusion-induced decay of fragment boundary disclinations as being a micromechanism for the solid state amorphization in mechanically alloyed materials. Within the framework of the suggested model the kinetics of amorphous-phase nucleation centres (spread cores of the decayed disclinations) is studied. In doing so, kinetic equations are suggested and solved, which describe the evolution of the radius of the amorphous core of the decayed disclination.     

Parametric amplification of ultrasound in ferromagnetic piezoelectric composites at the vicinity of the orientational phase transition

Direct parametrical amplification of ultrasound was theoretically considered for the ferromagnetic/piezoelectric thin-layered structure composites, for which within the long-wavelength approach some, material specific, yet homogeneous bulk properties could be assumed. Having chosen appropriate homogeneous components, it is possible to construct a desirable composite with such properties that are absent in the starting-up “building blocks” (components).Sound frequencies are assumed to be such that only the dispersion due to magnetic subsystem is thought relevant; the piezoelectric components are set to have a nonlinear dielectric response. Presence of orientational phase transition for the ferromagnetic subsystem allows to vary frequency of a ferromagnetic resonance, and consequently to alter the dispersion at the chosen frequency of sound.While solving coupled equations describing dynamics of mechanical, magnetic and piezoelectric subsystems, an effective sound amplification for realistic values of physical parameters is shown possible.     

Optical properties and origin of infrared light scattering centers in undoped semi-insulating GaAs crystals

The wavelength dependence and polarization characteristics of the infrared light scattered from an undoped GaAs crystal were investigated in the 90° angle infrared light scattering configuration. The scattering is Rayleigh scattering from scatterers which are always associated with the dislocations, and they are classified into three types,S, L _A , andL _G scatterers, according to their polarization characteristics. TheS, L _A , andL _G -scatterers are thought to be small As clusters, large As precipitates and large Ga precipitates, respectively.     

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) study of melt-spun Fe85Ga15 ribbons

The local structure in melt-spun Fe₈₅Ga₁₅ ribbons with a width ∼3 mm and thickness ∼60 μm produced in argon atmosphere was studied by analyzing EXAFS and XANES data. The following results were obtained: Ga–Ga bonds were not detected excluding the tendency to form clusters of Ga atoms; Ga substitutes Fe creating a local strain of about +1% on the first shell Fe–Ga bond, whereas on the second Fe–Ga shell strain quickly relaxes down to +0.3%; XANES spectra are compatible with a random substitution of Fe atoms by Ga atoms in the A2 structure. From the AFM investigation, we observed that at the surface (free side) of the ribbon the particles are elongated along the ribbon (∼2 μm×∼5 μm) and each particle is formed by small grains of average size of 200 nm.     

Magnetic and high-pressure magnetotransport properties of cesium-substituted lanthanum calcium manganites

The nature of the double-exchange (DE) interaction in lanthanum manganites is studied through chemical substitutions, Cs for La, and high-pressure measurements. Static and high-frequency magnetic measurements and high-pressure electrical transport studies were carried out on bulk polycrystalline and radio-frequency sputtered thin films of La_0.7-xCs_xCa_0.3MnO₃ for x=0-0.1. The samples are found to be cubic. Curie temperature T_c measurements provide evidence for bond-length-related weakening of DE as x is increased from 0 to 0.03. For higher x, the bond-angle-related changes lead to an increase in the strength of DE. High-pressure mangetoresistance data indicate both bond length and bond-angle-related increase of 10–20 K/GPa in T_c with pressure, with the largest increase measured for x=0.03. The rate of increase in the Curie temperature with pressure decreases with increasing T_c. Anomalies are observed in the magnetic parameters for x=0.03. The Cs-concentration dependence of the low-temperature saturation magnetization shows a minimum close to x=0.03. Ferromagnetic resonance studies at x-band reveal a 5% decrease in the g-value for x=0.03 relative to the end members (x=0 and 0.1). The low-field magnetostriction for x=0.03 indicates a relatively strong electron–phonon spin coupling compared to neighboring compositions. Received: 15 May 2000 / Accepted: 24 July 2000 / Published online: 9 November 2000