X-ray free electron laser observation of ultrafast lattice behaviour under femtosecond laser-driven shock compression in iron.

Over the past century, understanding the nature of shock compression of condensed matter has been a major topic. About 20 years ago, a femtosecond laser emerged as a new shock-driver. Unlike conventional shock waves, a femtosecond laser-driven shock wave creates unique microstructures in materials. Therefore, the properties of this shock wave may be different from those of conventional shock waves. However, the lattice behaviour under femtosecond laser-driven shock compression has never been elucidated. Here we report the ultrafast lattice behaviour in iron shocked by direct irradiation of a femtosecond laser pulse, diagnosed using X-ray free electron laser diffraction. We found that the initial compression state caused by the femtosecond laser-driven shock wave is the same as that caused by conventional shock waves. We also found, for the first time experimentally, the temporal deviation of peaks of stress and strain waves predicted theoretically. Furthermore, the existence of a plastic wave peak between the stress and strain wave peaks is a new finding that has not been predicted even theoretically. Our findings will open up new avenues for designing novel materials that combine strength and toughness in a trade-off relationship.

Crystallinity in periodic nanostructure surface on Si substrates induced by near- and mid-infrared femtosecond laser irradiation.

Laser-induced periodic surface structure (LIPSS), which has a period smaller than the laser wavelength, is expected to become a potential technique for fine surface processing. We report the microscopic and macroscopic observations of the crystallinity of LIPSSs, where the characteristics such as defects generation and residual strain were analyzed, respectively. The LIPSSs were formed on a Si substrate using two different femtosecond pulses from Ti:Sapphire laser with near-infrared wavelength (0.8 µm) and free-electron laser (FEL) with mid-infrared wavelength (11.4 µm). The photon energies of the former and latter lasers used here are higher and lower than the Si bandgap energies, respectively. These LIPSSs exhibit different crystalline states, where LIPSS induced by Ti:Sapphire laser show residual strain while having a stable crystallinity; in contrast, FEL-LIPSS generates defects without residual strain. This multiple analysis (microscopic and macroscopic observations) provides such previously-unknown structural characteristics with high spatial resolution. To obtain LIPSS with suitable properties and characteristics based on each application it is paramount to identify the laser sources that can achieve such properties. Therefore, identifying the structural information of the LIPSS generated by each specific laser is of great importance.

Tuning strain-induced γ-to-ε martensitic transformation of biomedical Co-Cr-Mo alloys by introducing parent phase lattice defects.

In this study, we examined the effect of pre-existing dislocation structures in a face-centered cubic γ-phase on strain-induced martensitic transformation (SIMT) to produce a hexagonal close-packed ε-phase in a hot-rolled biomedical Co-Cr-Mo alloy. The as-rolled microstructure was characterized by numerous dislocations as well as stacking faults and deformation twins. SIMT occurred just after macroscopic yielding in tensile deformation. Using synchrotron X-ray diffraction line-profile analysis, we successfully captured the nucleation of ε-martensite during tensile deformation in terms of structural evolution in the surrounding γ-matrix: many dislocations that were introduced into the γ-matrix during the hot-rolling process were consumed to produce ε-martensite, together with strong interactions between dislocations in the γ-matrix. As a result, the SIMT behavior during tensile deformation was accelerated through the consumption of these lattice defects, and the nucleation sites for the SIMT ε-phase transformed into intergranular regions upon hot rolling. Consequently, the hot-rolled Co-Cr-Mo alloy simultaneously exhibited an enhanced strain hardening and a high yield strength. The results of this study suggest the possibility of a novel approach for controlling the γ → ε SIMT behavior, and ultimately, the performance of the alloy in service by manipulating the initial dislocation structures.

Note: A Laue crystal imager for high energy quasi-monochromatic x-ray.

A newly designed transmission type x-ray Laue imager for tens of keV hard x-rays is reported. Compared with the traditional reflection type x-ray crystal imager, the transmission geometry produces a much better image quality for high energy hard x-rays. This system was assessed via a calibration experiment performed at the SPring8 synchrotron radiation facility. With a Ta x-ray fluorescer, the mono-energetic x-ray at 70 keV from the synchrotron radiation was converted to an isotropically emitted Ta K-shell source at 57.5 keV and 65 keV. A tungsten pinhole array was employed as the test object, and clear images of the pinholes with a magnification of ∼5 were acquired. These images exhibited superior quality in the dispersion plane. As an extension of this work, a slit-free full-spectral Laue imager is proposed for high resolution hard x-ray imaging.

Strengthening of biomedical Ni-free Co-Cr-Mo alloy by multipass "low-strain-per-pass" thermomechanical processing.

Further strengthening of biomedical Co-Cr-Mo alloys is desired, owing to the demand for improvements to their durability in applications such as artificial hip joints, spinal rods, bone plates, and screws. Here, we present a strategy-multipass "low-strain-per-pass" thermomechanical processing-for achieving high-strength biomedical Co-Cr-Mo alloys with sufficient ductility. The process primarily consists of multipass hot deformation, which involves repeated introduction of relatively small amounts of strain to the alloy at elevated temperatures. The concept was verified by performing hot rolling of a Co-28 Cr-6 Mo-0.13N (mass%) alloy and its strengthening mechanisms were examined. Strength increased monotonically with hot-rolling reduction, eventually reaching 1,400 MPa in 0.2% proof stress, an exceptionally high value. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) line-profile analysis revealed a drastic increase in the dislocation density with an increase in hot-rolling reduction and proposed that the significant strengthening was primarily driven by the increased dislocation density, while the contributions of grain refinement were minor. In addition, extra strengthening, which originates from contributions of planar defects (stacking faults/deformation twins), became apparent for greater hot-rolling reductions. The results obtained in this work help in reconsidering the existing strengthening strategy for the alloys, and thus, a novel feasible manufacturing route using conventional hot deformation processing, such as forging, rolling, swaging, and drawing, is realized. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The results obtained in this work suggested a novel microstructural design concept/feasible manufacturing route of high-strength Co-Cr-Mo alloys using conventional hot deformation processing. The present strategy focuses on the strengthening due to the introduction of a high density of lattice defects rather than grain refinement using dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The hot-rolled samples obtained by our process exhibited exceptional strength, which is comparable to the highest strength reported for biomedical Co-Cr-Mo alloys. It was also found that the acceptable ductility can be obtained even in such highly distorted Co-Cr-Mo alloys. We described the strengthening mechanisms in detail; this will be helpful for further investigations or industrial realization of the proposed strategy.

Pressure-induced phase transitions in the Cd-Yb periodic approximant to a quasicrystal.

The phase study of a Cd-Yb 1/1 approximant crystal over a wide pressure and temperature range is crucial for the comparison study between periodic and quasiperiodic crystals. The Cd(4) tetrahedra, the most inner part of the atomic clusters, exhibited various structural ordering in the orientation sensitive to pressure and temperature. Five ordered phases appeared in a P-T span up to 5.2 GPa and down to 10 K. The propagation direction of ordering alternated from [110] to <111> to at about 1.0 GPa and again to [110] at 3.5-4.3 GPa. The primarily ordered phases that appeared by cooling to 210-250 K between 1.0-5.2 GPa further transformed to finely ordered ones at 120-155 K. Besides the original short-range type interaction, a long-range type interaction was likely developed under pressure to lead to the primary ordering of Cd(4) tetrahedra. Coexistence of these interactions is responsible for the complicated phase behavior.