FIB cross-sectioning of a single rapidly solidified hypereutectic Al-Si powder particle for HRTEM.

A creative technique of in-situ focused ion beam (FIB) extraction was introduced to prepare a gas atomized rapidly solidified hypereutectic Al-Si single particle's cross-section for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) analysis. This preparation technique may be employed to characterize very inimitable samples that are abnormally wrought or intricate to prepare through traditional techniques. TEM results revealed that a gas-atomization/rapid solidification process leads to a homogeneous dispersion of 50-100-nm Si phase in the Al matrix. Stacking faults and dislocations are observed in the microstructure and will ultimately lead to the increased strength in a resultant bulk material manufactured from this powder to be further examined.