An atom probe study of phase decomposition in three iron meteorites

An atom probe field-ion microscopy characterization of the Cape York, Twin City and Santa Catharina iron-nickel meteorites has been performed. This investigation has revealed that the taenite, corresponding to an interface region between the cloudy zone and the clear taenite 2 (CT2) region in the Cape York meteorite and the matrix of the Twin City and Santa Catharina meteorites, has phase separated to form an ultra-fine scale duplex microstructure. The composition of these two phases was determined to be 50 at. % Ni and approximately 15 at. % Ni. These compositions correspond to the equiatomic FeNi L10-ordered phase and a disordered face centered cubic phase. 38 refs., 16 figs., 3 tabs