Radiation-altered alloy decomposition for Cu-47 at% Ni-8 at% Fe

For the alloy Cu-47 at% Ni-8 at% Fe proton radiation-enhanced precipitation and Cu ion radiation-induced precipitate dissolution has been studied by means of atom probing in a field ion microscope. The radiation-enhanced decomposition differs from the thermally activated one. Besides the accelerated quasibinary decomposition into Cu-rich and Ni-rich phases, Fe-rich clusters precipitate. This finding confirms earlier conclusions drawn from small angle neutron scattering data. From atom probe studies of the precipitate dissolution process as caused by 300 keV Cu ion irradiation at 573 K, the dissolution efficiency was determined to about 2 nm2/dpa. (orig.)