Evidence for near-grain boundary lattice rotations in an Fe(Si) alloy

The relaxation behaviour of Fe-10 at.% Si coarse-grained polycrystal grown by the electron beam floating zone melting technique has been studied. Form ation of sub-micrometer steps at the grain boundaries after annealing an as grown polycrystal has been revealed by atomic force microscopy. The misori entation parameters of the grain boundaries were determined by the electron backscattering diffraction technique and a correlation between the step am plitude and the grain boundary type was found. The areas swept by migrating grain boundaries exhibited two steps of the opposite sign at the original and final grain boundary positions. The experimental data are discussed in terms of the model of near-grain boundary lattice rotations.