B12-O-17Microsecond Time-Scale In Situ Observations of Electron-Irradiation-Induced Crystallization in an Amorphous Antimony Nanoparticle by Ultra-High Voltage Electron Microscopy

Abstract

In-situ compression tests in a transmission electron microscope were carried out to investigate the deformation behavior of δ-ferrite nanopillars of 2205 duplex stainless steel. Nanopillars of ~600 nm in length, ~300 nm in width, and ~100 nm in thickness were fabricated by a focused ion beam instrument (JEOL JEM-9320 FIB). The pillars were compressed uniaxially along the [001] direction at room temperature in a JEOL 2010F transmission electron microscope with a Hysitron PicoIndenter installed. The δferrite with spinodal nanostructure, which formed due to aging at 475oC for 64 h [1], obviously retarded the progress of serrated yielding (intermittent short strain bursts with a discrete large burst [2]), which occurred in the unaged pillars without spinodal nanostructures. A typical example is illustrated in Fig. 1. The detailed defomation structures have been examined through the in-situ videos and snapshots. The different trends in the deformation behavior clearly indicate that the spinodal structure in the aged nanopillar strongly confined the movement of dislocations during the course of compression, leading to a notable strengthening effect. [1] T.H. Chen, K.L. Weng, J.R. Yang, Mater. Sci. Eng., A 338 (2002) 259-270. [2] K.Y. Xie et al, Scripta Mater. 65 (2011) 1037-1040. B12-O-17 doi:10.1093/jmicro/dfv104