Issue 11, 2024

Nanoscale liquid Al phase formation through beam heating of MgAl2O4 in TEM

Abstract

In this study, electron-beam irradiation of a MgAl2O4 single-crystalline thin-film specimen in a transmission electron microscope reveals an unexpected formation of nanoscale liquid Al droplets. Despite the comparable melting temperatures of Mg and Al, the resulting liquid phase is predominantly composed of Al. This predominant presence of Al in the liquid phase is attributed to the selective evaporation of Mg, driven by its higher vapor pressure at elevated temperatures. Our observations suggest a correlation between electron-beam irradiation and a subsequent rise in specimen temperature. In particular, the observed melting of Al defies explanation by the widely accepted mechanism that attributes specimen heating to electron-energy loss, given the negligible energy deposited as determined by the collision stopping power. Instead, we suggest that the significant specimen heating is due to Auger excitation, a process known to deposit substantial energy. This contention is supported by a quantitative heat-transfer finite element analysis.

Graphical abstract: Nanoscale liquid Al phase formation through beam heating of MgAl2O4 in TEM

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Jan 2024
Accepted
28 Mar 2024
First published
29 Mar 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Adv., 2024,6, 2830-2837

Nanoscale liquid Al phase formation through beam heating of MgAl2O4 in TEM

S. B. Lee, J. Y. Chae and H. N. Han, Nanoscale Adv., 2024, 6, 2830 DOI: 10.1039/D4NA00011K

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