FIELD EVAPORATION AND FIELD ION MICROSCOPY STUDY OF THE MORPHOLOGY OF PHASES PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF LOW TEMPERATURE PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE IRON-CHROMIUM SYSTEM

Abstract
The morphology of the iron-rich α and chromium-enriched α' phases produced in iron-chromium alloys upon aging within the low temperature miscibility gap has been characterized by field evaporation and field ion microscopy. The morphology of the phases was found to change with composition and aging temperature. At low chromium levels, the morphology of the phases consisted of isolated, roughly spherical islands of the α' phase embedded in an α matrix. As the chromium level increased, this morphology smoothly changed into an isotropic network where both the α and α' phases were highly interconnected networks.