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

Crystalline nanoprecipitates of Xe have been produced by ion implantation into high purity Al at 300 K. With an off-zone axis transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging technique, the nanocrystals may be clearly structure imaged against a nearly featureless background. Under the 1 MeV electron irradiation employed for the HREM observation, Xe nanocrystals exhibit a number of readily observed physical phenomena including migration within the matrix, 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 changes have previously been inaccessible to observation.