Ion-irradiation-induced structural evolution in Ti4AlN3

Abstract The microstructural evolutions of Ti 4 AlN 3 induced by 1 MeV Au + ions irradiation over a wide fluence range were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) results clearly reveal the process of irradiation-induced partial phase transitions from the original hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) structure into face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure, with the formation of stacking faults. The mechanism for the phase transitions of Ti 4 AlN 3 is proposed based on the phase contrast images and electron diffraction pattern (EDP) simulation. The remained hcp structure without amorphization after high fluences irradiation suggest that Ti 4 AlN 3 exhibits excellent radiation tolerance.