Local phase transformations in alloys during charged-particle irradiation

Abstract

Among the various mechanisms and processes by which energetic irradiation can alter the phase stability of alloys, radiation-induced segregation is one of the most important phenomena. Radiation-induced segregation in alloys occurs as a consequence of preferential coupling between persistent fluxes of excess defects and solute atoms, leading to local enrichment or depletion of alloying elements. Thus, this phenomenon tends to drive alloy systems away from thermodynamic equilibrium, on a local scale. During charged-particle irradiations, the spatial nonuniformity in the defect production gives rise to a combination of persistent defect fluxes, near the irradiated surface and in the peak-damage region. This defect-flux combination can modify the alloy composition in a complex fashion, i.e. it can destabilize pre-existing phases, causing spatially- and temporally-dependent precipitation of new metastable phases. The effects of radiation-induced segregation on local phase transformations in Ni-based alloys during proton bombardment and high-voltage electron-microscope irradiation at elevated temperatures are discussed.