Characterization of neutron-irradiated FeAu alloys

The yield strength of a series of neutron-irradiated iron-gold alloys was found to be significantly higher than a similar series of iron-copper alloys that were irradiated at the same fluence and irradiation temperature. An atom probe field ion microscopy and transmission electron microscopy characterization of these alloys has been performed. Atom probe analysis revealed significant depletions of copper and gold in the matrices after neutron irradiation. High number densities of small coherent zones on the thesz100theszα planes were observed by both transmission electron microscopy and field ion microscopy. A maximum gold concentration of ∼ 4 at% Au was found in the coherent zones for material neutron-irradiated at 290°C to a fluence of ∼ 1.2 × 1023nm−2.