Static Atomic Displacements in Crystalline Solid Solution Alloys

Abstract

AbstractAtom size differences induce static displacements from an average alloy lattice and play an important role in controlling alloy phase stability and properties. The details of this role however, are difficult to study; chemical order and displacements are strongly interrelated and static displacements are hard to measure. Diffuse x-ray scattering measurements with tunable-synchrotron radiation can now measure element-specific static displacements with an accuracy of ± 0.1 pm and can simultaneously measure local chemical order out to 20 shells or more. Ideal alloys for diffuse scattering analysis with synchrotron radiation, are those that have previously been the most intractable: alloys with small Z contrast, alloys with only local order and alloys with small size differences. The combination of precise characterization of local chemical order and precise measurement of static displacement provides new information that challenges existing alloy models. We report on an ongoing systematic study of static displacements in the Fe/Ni/Cr alloys and compare the observed static displacements to the static displacements predicted by current theories. The availability of more brilliant 3rd generation hard x-ray sources will greatly enhance these measurements.