On the correspondence of bump relief on the surface of materials processed with low-energy high-current electron beam to their grain structure

Abstract

One of the features that appears on the pre-polished surface of metals and alloys as a result of processing with low-energy high-current electron beam is a bump surface relief with the bump size varying from several tens to several hundred nanometers. Some researchers consider these bumps as the trace of the grain structure of the near-surface modified layer of material. The aim of the present work was to show experimental results proving that the bump relief is not related to the grain size in the near-surface layer. The microstructure was studied using reliable complementary methods of transmission electron microscopy and backscattered electron diffraction using Inconel 718 alloy and stainless steel obtained by additive manufacturing and processed with low-energy high-current electron beam.