Atomistic modeling of nanoscale patterning of L1{sub 2} order induced by ion irradiation

Journal Article · Wed Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3474668· OSTI ID:21476450

Jia, Ye ^[1]; Youhong, Li ^[2]; Averback, Robert; Jianmin, Zuo ^[1]; Bellon, Pascal ^[1]

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1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)
2. Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)

Theoretical predictions indicate that ordered alloys can spontaneously develop a steady-state nanoscale microstructure when irradiated with energetic particles. This behavior derives from a dynamical competition between disordering in cascades and thermally activated reordering, which leads to self-organization of the chemical order parameter. We test this possibility by combining molecular dynamics (MD) and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. We first generate realistic distributions of disordered zones for Ni{sub 3}Al irradiated with 70 keV He and 1 MeV Kr ions using MD and then input this data into KMC to obtain predictions of steady state microstructures as a function of the irradiation flux. Nanoscale patterning is observed for Kr ion irradiations but not for He ion irradiations. We illustrate, moreover, using image simulations of these KMC microstructures, that high-resolution transmission electron microscopy can be employed to identify nanoscale patterning. Finally, we indicate how this method could be used to synthesize functional thin films, with potential for magnetic applications.

• OSTI ID: 21476450
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 108, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3474668; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
HELIUM IONS
ION BEAMS
IRRADIATION
KEV RANGE
KRYPTON IONS
MEV RANGE
MICROSTRUCTURE
MOLECULAR DYNAMICS METHOD
MONTE CARLO METHOD
NANOSTRUCTURES
NICKEL ALLOYS
ORDER PARAMETERS
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
THIN FILMS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ALLOYS
BEAMS
CALCULATION METHODS
CHARGED PARTICLES
DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ENERGY RANGE
FILMS
IONS
MICROSCOPY
SIMULATION
TRANSITION ELEMENT ALLOYS