An experimental and theoretical study of surface segregation in a Fe-6at.%Si bicrystal

Abstract

The analysis of segregation phenomena in bicrystals is an important step for the understanding of combined effects of the elementary diffusion processes involved in the segregation in polycristalline systems. The segregation of Si and P in a Fe-6at.%Si bicrystal with a (100) and (110) surface has been investigated by means of AES (Auger electron spectroscopy). For these experiments the technique of a linearly increased temperature has been applied. Significant differences between the segregation kinetics at the two surfaces of the sample have been found on the one hand for the maximum coverage of P and on the other hand for the high temperature behaviour of Si. Additionally, model calculations based on the KTBIM (kinetic tight binding Ising model) have been performed to qualitatively describe the experimental results. It is shown, that the striking differences between the segregation behaviour at the two differently oriented surfaces can be explained by different segregation energies of P, whereas Si plays a minor role due to its relatively small segregation energy.