A study of the mechanism of loop growth in thin foils of an aluminium 3·0 at. % magnesium alloy using an energy analysing electron microscope

Abstract

Abstract Parallel observations have been made of the plasmon energy losses and the growth of prismatic dislocation loops during annealing at 200°c of an aluminium 3·0 at. % magnesium alloy. It is shown that there is a continuous loss of magnesium during annealing and this supports the oxidation-vacancy emission loop growth mechanism suggested by Kritzinger, Dobson and Smallman (1967) to account for loop growth in aluminium-magnesium alloys. It is found that the rate of growth of loops varies by a factor of three from point to point within a given grain in the thin foil. This behaviour is explained in terms of local fluctuations in the efficiency of the oxide/metal interface for absorbing vacancies.