Behaviour of nanocrystalline Xe precipitates in Al under 1 MeV electron irradiation

Crystalline nanoprecipitates of Xe have been produced by ion implantation i nto high purity Al at 300 K. With an off-zone axis transmission electron mi croscopy (TEM) imaging technique, the nanocrystals may be clearly structure imaged against a nearly featureless background. Under the 1 MeV electron i rradiation employed for the HREM observation, Xe nanocrystals exhibit a num ber of readily observed physical phenomena including migration within the m atrix, changes in shape, faulting, melting, crystallization and coalescence . The various phenomena observed as changes in the Xe nanocrystals reflect changes of matrix cavity-surface structure. The Xe nanocrystal thus allows investigation indirectly into changes in interface morphology at the atomic level, resulting in this instance from electron irradiation damage. Such c hanges have previously been inaccessible to observation.