Study of the Structure of Crater at the Surface of 12Cr18Ni10Ti Steel Irradiated by High-Power Pulsed Ion Beam

Abstract

The topography of surface layers of 12Cr18Ni10Ti (AISI 321) steel after pulsed high-power Cⁿ⁺ ion beams irradiation was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. A thin foil was prepared from the cross section of a crater with the use of a focused ion beam in the column of a two-beam electron-ion microscope. The microstructure and chemical composition of the crater were studied by transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that the near-surface layer (~2 μm in depth) of the crater is represented by an area of columnar grains elongated in the direction of the surface. Under the layer of columnar grains, the region with equiaxial submicrocrystalline grains is situated.