Atomic scale structure and chemical composition across order-disorder interfaces

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Feb 27;102(8):086101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.086101. Epub 2009 Feb 25.

Abstract

Through a combination of aberration-corrected high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and three-dimensional atom probe tomography, the true atomic-scale structure and change in chemical composition across the complex order-disorder interface in a metallic alloy has been determined. The study reveals the presence of two interfacial widths, one corresponding to an order-disorder transition, and the other to the compositional transition across the interface, raising fundamental questions regarding the definition of the interfacial width in such systems.